ICC World Cup 2023 Schedule

ICC World Cup 2023 Schedule : The 2023 Cricket World Cup is poised to commence on October 5th, featuring an enticing opening match between the reigning champions, England, and the previous edition’s runners-up, New Zealand.

This highly anticipated showdown will take place at the renowned Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. As anticipation builds, cricket enthusiasts can eagerly mark their calendars for yet another high-stakes encounter: India is scheduled to face their arch-rivals, Pakistan, at the same venue on October 14th.

The pinnacle of the tournament is set for November 19th, with the world’s largest cricket stadium once again serving as the battleground for the final showdown.

In total, the tournament will showcase 48 matches, spread across 10 distinct venues. This marks the fourth occasion on which India has had the privilege of hosting ODI cricket’s premier event, the last being in 2011 when India emerged as the triumphant hosts.

The host cities for this edition encompass Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Dharamsala, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad. Notably, the historic Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, boasting a seating capacity of 55,000 and a rich legacy of hosting international matches, will not host any league matches for Team India.

Furthermore, both semifinal matches will include reserve days to accommodate unforeseen contingencies.

The participating teams in this World Cup comprise the eight that had previously secured their berths and two additional teams determined through the World Cup Qualifiers. The tournament format follows a round-robin stage, where each team competes against the other nine. The top four teams from this stage will progress to the semifinals. To kickstart the excitement, warm-up matches are scheduled from September 29th to October 3rd in Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad.

India’s campaign in the tournament will commence on October 8th when Rohit Sharma’s squad faces a formidable Australian team at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. Aside from Pakistan and Australia, India anticipates formidable challenges from New Zealand in Dharamsala and England in Lucknow. These are the only two teams that managed to defeat India during the 2019 World Cup. India’s previous encounter with England in the league stage four years ago resulted in a loss at Edgbaston, followed by their elimination by New Zealand in a rain-affected semifinal match at Manchester, which extended over a grueling 24-hour period.

The tournament schedule underwent a revision, with the new dates announced two weeks after the initial schedule was released. This delay was primarily due to Pakistan’s request to reschedule two of their matches: one against Australia in Bengaluru on October 20th and another against Afghanistan in Chennai three days later. Regrettably, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined their request, leading to the revised schedule.

In stark contrast, the fixtures for the 2019 World Cup in England were disclosed well in advance, more than a year before the tournament commenced on May 30, 2019. This disparity in schedule announcement timelines has contributed to a somewhat subdued level of anticipation surrounding the tournament. The International Cricket Council (ICC) chose to keep the schedule under wraps, with the BCCI maintaining a similar stance until the recent announcement.

ICC World Cup 2023 Schedule