The former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Najam Sethi slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account for another potential change in the ICC World Cup 2023 schedule.
Sethi, 75, stated that the BCCI should have taken his advise of playing Pakistan’s matches on a neutral venue to avoid scheduling problems.
“@BCCI should have taken my advice re @TheRealPCB playing their WC games in a neutral country :) They are now in a mess with schedule tweaks being proposed every few days!” Sethi wrote in a post on X.
Earlier today, The Indian Express reported that the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) requested the BCCI to tweak the schedule of two games, which it is set to host on consecutive days, due to security concerns raised by the local police.
The New Zealand-Netherlands match on October 9 and the Pakistan-Sri Lanka fixture on the following will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad.
The Pakistan-Sri Lanka was earlier scheduled for October 12 but the date was later changed to provide Pakistan with enough time between fixtures after their match with India on October 14.
It must be noted that earlier this month, nine matches of the World Cup were rescheduled but, according to the report, the HCA were not consulted on the matter which is why they were forced to file a request for a change in the itinerary.
With the tickets set to go on sale from August 25, it is still unclear whether the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will accept HCA’s request and change the schedule once again.
10 teams will fight for the elusive title across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final.
The Cricket World Cup will be played in the round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.
The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, which will be held in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.