Pakistan will take on India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in what will be the biggest game in the upcoming ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, to be played in October-November. There has been much speculation regarding the fixtures with the International Cricket Council (ICC) yet to officially reveal the schedule for the showpiece tournament. However, the draft schedule suggests that Pakistan will mostly play their games in the southern part of India and the eastern city of Kolkata.
Pakistan will begin their campaign in Hyderabad, where they will play their first two matches against qualifying teams – on October 6 and 12. Following that, Pakistan will shift base to Ahmedabad where they can expect a capacity home crowd to welcome them against India, arch-rivals and hosts, on October 15.
After that high-octane encounter, the Babar Azam-led outfit will move to Bengaluru to take on Australia, five-times champions, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 20, before heading to Chennai to lock horns with Afghanistan and South Africa on October 23 and 27.
By then, everyone would have a fair idea whether Pakistan are in contention to qualify for the semi-finals, but a stern challenge awaits them in their last three games of the league stage. They take on Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 31, before moving back to Bengaluru to face New Zealand, runners-up in 2015 and 2019, on November 5. Pakistan, winners in 1992, end their league campaign against England, the defending champions, at the Eden Gardens on November 12.
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While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have more or less got their preferred venues in the showpiece tournament, there is some concern around their matches being affected by rain. Bengaluru can be hit by the retreating monsoon in the month of September, and there’s no surety that it won’t extend in to the early weeks of October. The same is the case with Chennai. Kolkata is also expected to be dry in late October and early November, but the coastal city and capital of West Bengal is known for unseasonal showers.
The PCB had kept Chennai and Kolkata as their preferred choice of venues for the tournament owing to the political tension between the two countries. While the hosts and the ICC have agreed to give them matches in both the cities, it remains to be seen how the PCB and Pakistan fans will react if any of their matches get affected by rain, potentially impacting their chances of qualifying for the latter stages of the tournament.
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The ICC is expected to officially release the schedule this week.