Punjab's Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer expressed his disappointment at Mohali not getting to host any ODI World Cup 2023 match after the tournament schedule was released by the International Cricket Council in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Dharamsala, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Hyderabad will host at least five matches each in the World Cup which starts from October 5.
But Mohali has been ignored as a host city, where India and Pakistan had played the World Cup semi-final in 2011.
"Mohali is always the first choice for cricket fans. Discrimination against Punjab will not be tolerated at any cost," Hayer said, adding that the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will raise the issue of open injustice with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"The exclusion of Punjab's Mohali from the list of host cities for the tournament was due to political interference. Punjab government will raise this issue with BCCI," Hayer added.
Shashi Tharoor not happy with Kerala missing out
Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also expressed his displeasure at Kerala not getting to host a single ODI World Cup match this year.
Tharoor took to Twitter to criticise the ICC schedule.
"Disappointed to see that Thiruvananthapuram's #SportsHub, hailed by many as the best cricket stadium in India, is missing from the #WorldCup2023 fixture list.
"Ahmedabad is becoming the new cricket capital of the country, but could a match or two not have been allotted to Kerala?" Tharoor tweeted.
India's schedule & tournament details
India will begin their World Cup campaign against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8. They will be playing 9 games in their campaign, including the blockbuster clash against Pakistan on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
A total of 10 teams will participate at the showcase event, the first eight having already qualified through the Cricket World Cup Super League. The final two spots will be determined at the end of the Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe, which concludes on July 9.
Each team plays the other nine in a round robin format with the top four qualifying for the knockout stage and semi-finals.
