You won’t find the first of the lot, since they are yet to be up for sale. The second and third, sure, but at a premium. But that really does not matter to our NRI. Cricket must be watched, at any cost. Not least the only match that matters, India versus Pakistan, in Ahmedabad, on October 15! So, you make all your flight bookings, block hotel rooms (even hospital beds, it seems) and wait with bated breath for the tickets to be up for sale.

Then, they suddenly realise that the India-Pak match may not be played on October 15 at all! Just a minor fact of Navratri beginning on that day and which Indian doesn’t know how big it is in Gujarat.

Then the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unleashes the real bombshell. There will be changes in the dates and times of several matches, because as many as three International Cricket Council (ICC) full members have issues about the current schedule.

We still don’t know if those members include Pakistan.

So, all the NRI friend’s plans – flight dates, hotel bookings, domestic travel plans – go up in smoke within the span of one BCCI briefing. Now he will be left scampering to revise all plans, but that too will have to wait till the new schedule is released.

The biggest equity-holder in cricket in India – the paying fan – has the last say, if any, in the goings-on of the board, or the ICC.

With just over two months left for the World Cup to begin (as per the original schedule), fans still don’t know when the matches he wants to watch will be played. As a double delight, he will also have to run to marked centres to pick up hard copies of match tickets, since e-tickets are not available.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah states that 7-8 centres will be opened “well in advance” for redemption of physical tickets, which will have to be retained by the spectators for the tournament.

So much for digitisation.

So not just will our NRI friend have to change all his plans, he will also have to queue up at one of these centres “well in advance” to redeem his ticket. That should be fun.

As a return for all these trials, the fan will be welcomed with enhanced facilities at the hosting stadia – stuff like hygiene, clean toilets, and free drinking water. They should be eternally grateful. After all, these things, taken as a given in most stadia for most sports worldwide, are not so in India.

Batting order mystery

Speaking of reordering, it was very interesting to see the Indian batting order during the first One-Day International (ODI) against the West Indies at Bridgetown, Barbados.

All the talk about Sanju Samson getting a look-in went up in smoke as Ishan Kishan came in to open India’s inning along with Shubman Gill, followed by Suryakumar Yadav (wearing Sanju Samson’s shirt) at No, 3, Hardik Pandya at 4, Ravindra Jadeja at 5 and then Shardul Thakur.

No sign of Virat Kohli (who wasn’t even padded up) and Rohit Sharma only came sauntering in when India lost their fifth wicket, that of Thakur.

Quite interesting, this whole exercise. Team India seems to be testing the waters, so to speak, in real earnest. Even the shirt sizes seems to be up for changes. Ask Samson and SKY.

Quite an engaging beginning to the World Cup preparations, off and on the field. Normally, such events are fixed, sold and sorted by this time, but this is cricket, after all, and that too in India.

Anything is possible. So, keep watching this space.

The post World Cup 2023: Change In Schedule And Batting Order, Ticket Sales And Scampering Fans appeared first on Cricket Country.

After missing major tournaments like the Indian Premier League and the World Test Championship final, Bumrah will like to get fit before the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 in September and join the Indian team. Ravichandran Ashwin talked about Bumrah’s return to the Indian team on his YouTube channel.

While speaking about the India vs. Pakistan match which is scheduled to take place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, Ashwin revealed that he is expecting Bumrah to play in the Asia Cup. Bumrah was not available for all three games against Pakistan during the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup. But hopefully,  will be featured in all three IND-PAK matches scheduled to take place this year.

“The last few games between India and Pakistan in the ICC events have been extraordinary to say the least. I think we can expect another blockbuster India-Pakistan game,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. “It’s going to be a very equally-balanced game because Pakistan also have a quality seam attack. For India, obviously, we are expecting Bumrah, maybe even Prasidh… all these guys to be fit. I don’t know what the combination is going to look like but all in all, a great contest on hand.”

“The game I want to talk about is the one against Pakistan at Ahmedabad on October 15. Of course, it’s going to be a sell-out. 130000 will be the capacity audience at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Even in the 2011 World Cup, Ahmedabad had happy memories at Ahmedabad. The same venue was called the Motera Stadium back then where he played our quarter-final against Australia and beat them. We qualified for the semifinal against Pakistan and went on to win that World Cup,” added Ashwin.

The post “We Are Expecting..”: Ashwin Drops Big Hint On Bumrah’s Comeback In The Indian Team appeared first on Cricket Country.

The venue, which hosted the second Test between India and Australia earlier this year, had copped criticism for not ensuring basic hygiene in the stadium premises, especially in the washrooms.

In April, it was revealed that Delhi was among the five venues in the country that needed a major revamp, following a Gap assessment from the Indian cricket board (BCCI). A gap assessment outlines the existing gaps between the current and ideal future state of an organisation.

The others were Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Mohali, which doesn’t feature among the 10 World Cup venues chosen on Tuesday.

The game’s popularity in India has skyrocketed in the past 10 years with the BCCI making billions from broadcast rights. However, the fans are often neglected with most stadiums in India lacking basic facilities.

Rajan Manchanda, joint secretary at Delhi and District Cricket Association said their focus would be on making the fan experience pleasant during the World Cup.

“We thank the BCCI for awarding us five games. We need to improve the stadium infrastructure to make it a pleasant experience for the fans and will be focussed on that ahead of the mega event.

“We have planned a substantial upgrade in the facilities which will include changing of spectator seats, renovated washrooms, paintwork, and change in our ticketing software,” Manchanda told PTI.

The Arun Jaitley Stadium has a seating capacity of around 35,000 and Manchanda informed that DDCA will replace around 10,000 seats besides changing the 15-year-old turnstiles to enter the venue.

“We need to provide clean washrooms and hygienic food and water at a reasonable price to our fans. The strength of the housekeeping staff will also be increased. We plan to complete all the work by September 15,” added Manchanda.

He also informed that the teams from BCCI and International Cricket Council will conduct a recce of the venue, which will also include the pitch and outfield, in the third week of July. Though the weather is not harsh in October-November, the fans will have to sit in the sun as a major design flaw doesn’t allow DDCA to cover the open stands with a roof.

For the venue to have a roof, the existing structure will have to be razed down and built from scratch.

Delhi will host its opening game involving South Africa and a Qualifier on October 7. It will host its biggest game on October 11 when India take on Afghanistan. Afghanistan will also face mighty England here on October 14. The other two league games will be held on October 25 and November 6

The post Delhi To Spend Rs 20-25 Crore On Arun Jaitley Stadium To Get World Cup Ready, Promises Pleasant Fan Experience appeared first on Cricket Country.

Also as per PTI’s earlier report, the World Test Championship will have four editions in the next cycle apart from two Champions Trophy.

“The ICC Board today confirmed the schedule of ICC events from 2024-2031 with both the men’s Cricket World Cup and men’s T20 World Cup to be expanded and a men’s Champions Trophy to be re-introduced,” the global body said in a release issued after the board meeting.

“The men’s Cricket World Cup will become a 14 team, 54-match event in 2027 and 2031, whilst the men’s T20 World Cup will be expanded to a 20 team, 55-match event in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.”

The 50-over format currently is a 10-team event while this edition of the T20 World Cup will be a 16-team affair.

“An eight team Champions Trophy will be hosted in 2025 and 2029. ICC World Test Championship Finals will be hosted in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031. The ICC Women’s event schedule has already been confirmed with the expansion of both the Cricket World Cup and T20 World Cup forming part of the ICC’s long-term commitment to growing the women’s game,” it further stated.

The men’s World Cup format will have two groups of seven, with the top three in each group progressing to a Super Six stage, followed by semi-finals and final.

This is the same format that was used in the 2003 edition. The format of the T20 World Cup will consist of four groups of five, with the top two from each group going through to a Super Eights stage, followed by the knockout stages of semi-finals and a final.

The Champions Trophy will follow previous editions with two groups of four, semi-finals and final.

The post ICC to Expand ODI World Cup to 14 Teams; Hold World T20 Every 2 years in Next Cycle appeared first on Cricket Country.