Contrary to popular expectation, one of the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup has been allocated to Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The second semi-final will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai with the caveat that if India make it, which is expected, Rohit Sharma will lead his team out on his home ground. The final is set to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Also, there continues to be a degree of uncertainty over Ahmedabad as the venue for the India-Pakistan encounter. While it will be announced as the venue for the marquee clash, all eyes will be on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s reaction, and whether the government of Pakistan decides to intervene. Interestingly, a Pakistan court has also stayed the PCB elections till July 17, further adding to the uncertainty around the fixture.
On Sunday, June 25, there was a meeting of all 12 staging associations in Mumbai, and that’s when each association was finally informed about recent developments. And for Eden Gardens, it was Jay Shah, the BCCI Secretary, who played a key role in ensuring that Kolkata got a semi-final.
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With the semi-final moved to Kolkata, it is now more than likely that if there is a last-minute complication over the India-Pakistan game in Ahmedabad, Chennai will be the beneficiary. In their wish list, Pakistan had mentioned Chennai and Kolkata. Now, with Eden Gardens staging one of the two semis, Chennai is the association in line if anything goes wrong for Ahmedabad. Chennai has one of the best crowds in India and the 1999 Test match against Pakistan, one of the great matches in the game’s history, was testament to that. The crowd gave the Pakistan team a standing ovation, and it is still talked about by Wasim Akram and a number of other Pakistan cricketers.
One of the questions doing the rounds centres on why Chennai missed out on one of the semi-finals? The reason being given is that the retreating monsoon is a serious threat in Chennai at the time. Both Mumbai and Kolkata are better off in that sense for a knockout fixture. In Kolkata, the monsoon formally gives way to autumn by the end of October. Hence, the allocation of an India game in early November, and the semi-final, planned for November 15-16, both in a relatively safe weather zone.
Now that the wait for the schedule is finally over, all eyes will turn to the PCB and the Pakistan government. Will they try and flex their muscles to push India back, or will they play ball? That Pakistan will play the World Cup is certain. No government worth its salt would deprive its cricket team the opportunity to do well on Indian soil and mount a strong bid for the title – more so when the team under Babar Azam is a very good one. The question is whether they agree to play in Ahmedabad or not? This scheduling drama – for the previous World Cup in England in May-June 2019, the fixture list was out by April 26, 2018 – will not end until we have that answer.
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