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The Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to host the 2023 edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup. The mega ICC event will take place in October-November 2023, where 10 teams will participate to take the World Cup trophy home. It will be for the first time in the history of the tournament that all the World Cup matches will be hosted only in India. Several reports claim that the World Cup will be played across 13 venues in India. But an official confirmation about the stadiums of the matches is still awaited. However, a report claims that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the high-octane clash between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan.
According to a report by the Indian Express, the Board for Control for Cricket in India has decided to hand over the hosting of the India vs Pakistan match in the World Cup to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It is the world’s largest cricket stadium that has capacity of more than one Lakh, automatically making it the most suitable venue for the clash between the fiercest cricket enemies. Sources say that the ODI World Cup is most likely to begin from October 5, and the final will take place in November. Nagpur, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Rajkot, Indore, Bangalore and Dharamshala are reportedly the shortlisted venues for the matches of ODI World Cup 2023.
The report further suggests that Pakistan will play most of their matches in Chennai and Bengaluru, with Eden Gardens being another venue that can host Pakistan’s matches. On the flip side, Bangladesh will play most of their games in Kolkata and Guwahati, to lessen the distance between their fans from the neighbouring country.
Chennai is most likely to host India's match against Australia. Meanwhile the games with New Zealand, South Africa and England will be played on slower tracks.
The last time India met Pakistan in an ODI was during the World Cup 2019. In that match, India defeated their rivals by 89 runs via the Duckworth Lewis (DLS) rule. India has won the World Cup in 1983 and 2011 and is all set to get another cup home after a gap of 12 years.
