India-Pakistan World Cup match rescheduled to Oct 14, more changes on way

The much-awaited India-Pakistan match in the upcoming ICC men's World Cup 2023 (50-over) has been moved from October 15 to October 14. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) received approval for this modification to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), reported PTI.

The delay in releasing the World Cup schedule has been a concern as previous World Cups had their fixtures released more than a year in advance. According to ESPNcricinfo, the final and revised schedule for the World Cup is expected to be released this week.

Pakistan's fixtures now

• The alteration in the fixture has affected Pakistan's game against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad.
• Originally scheduled for October 12, the match has been brought forward to October 10, allowing Pakistan a favourable three-day gap between their matches against Sri Lanka and India.

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Why the change?

• The decision to change the India-Pakistan match date was made to avoid a clash with the first day of the Navratri festival, celebrated with great fervour in Gujarat.
• Ahmedabad civil administration and police authorities had earlier raised concerns about ensuring adequate security arrangements during the festival, prompting the change.
• However, BCCI secretary Jay Shah clarified that this wasn't the sole reason for schedule adjustments, as other full member countries also requested tweaks to the World Cup schedule.

Other probable changes

• The new date for the India-Pakistan match, October 14, already had two other scheduled matches: Bangladesh vs. New Zealand in Chennai and Afghanistan vs. England in Delhi.
• As a result, the match between Afghanistan and England is likely to be moved to October 13 to accommodate the revised schedule.

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Fan impact

• While the rescheduled dates aim to address the teams' travel, rest, and training needs between matches, it has presented a logistical challenge for fans who had already made travel arrangements for the original dates.
• Hotels in Ahmedabad are reportedly over-booked for mid-October, and even homestay options are exhausted.
• Airfares are also expected to surge, leading to potential mass cancellations and frantic re-bookings after the new date for the India-Pakistan game is announced.

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With less than two months remaining until the World Cup begins, the Indian board is now hoping to sell online tickets for the marquee event soon. However, the exact date for ticket sales has yet to be announced by the ICC and the BCCI.

The tournament is scheduled to commence on October 5 with the match between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad.