As a result of the dispute over who should host the Asia Cup being resolved, it is currently predicted that Pakistan would travel to India for the World Cup 2023 in the months of October and November.
It has been stated that the Pakistan cricket team does not feel “comfortable” competing against certain other nations at key venues during the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. These venues include Australia in Bengaluru and Afghanistan in Chennai.
As a result of the dispute over who should host the Asia Cup being resolved, it is currently predicted that Pakistan would travel to India for the World Cup 2023 in the months of October and November. The highly awaited encounter between India and Pakistan is scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad on October 15th, according to recent reports.
Before making the announcement of the World Cup schedule, the International Cricket Council (ICC) conferred with a number of its member entities, including the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The responsibility of certifying the venues for Pakistan’s matches in the 50-over mega event has been given to the board’s experts in statistics, analytics, and team planning, according to a report from PTI. These individuals will be in charge of planning the teams that will compete in the matches.
The report also stated, citing a source, that the PCB had sent the team’s tentative schedule to the selectors and experts. However, some of the selectors and experts don’t appear to be happy with the Pakistani team’s planned games and locations, such as their reservations about Pakistan playing Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia in Bengaluru. The report also stated that the PCB had forwarded the team’s tentative schedule to the selectors and experts.
In Chennai, a spin-friendly venue, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad, who both thrived for their respective teams in the 2023 Indian Premier League, will face off against Afghanistan’s bowling attack. Because the conditions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium are typically excellent for batting, it is difficult to understand why Pakistan would be hesitant to play Australia there. The conditions there are typically favourable for batting.
The source from the PCB stated that they had asked the board not to accept Chennai as the location for the game against Afghanistan because it had historically and statistically been a venue that favoured spinners and selectors, who are also members of the team management. The game against Afghanistan was scheduled to take place in Chennai.
According to the report, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to persuade the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to rearrange Pakistan’s games so that the team can play Australia in Chennai and Afghanistan in Bengaluru.
According to a statement that was attributed to a BCCI source in the paper, it is usual operating procedure for the ICC to engage with members over planned itineraries, and there must be a strong basis for modifying the locations in order to make such a change.
“A member board may request that the venue for an event be changed due to safety concerns. For example, Pakistan requested this in 2016 when they headed to India to compete in the Twenty20 World Cup. It is going to be very difficult to settle the schedule if you start voicing doubts over a site based on the strengths and limitations of your squad when they are competing on the field. According to a BCCI source who spoke to PTI, “No changes are made as far as the venues are concerned unless there is a strong enough reason.” This statement was made in reference to the Indo-Pak contest that took place in 2016, in which the game was moved to Kolkata from Dharamsala.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed its redesigned national selection committee at the end of the previous month. Mickey Arthur, who directs the national men’s squad, Grant Bradburn, and Hassan Cheema, who manages analytics and team planning for the national side, are all members of the committee.
In an effort to accommodate the requirements of modern cricket, the Chief Selector Haroon Rasheed has declared that the selectors will heavily rely on statistics and analytics to build a team plan before any match.
Reportedly in response to a question on whether or not Pakistan would be willing to play their championship game versus India in Ahmedabad, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stated that although it had been more or less settled upon, the government will make the final decision.
The Pakistani team will begin their qualification campaign on October 6 and 12, both of which will take place in Hyderabad.
It is predicted that Pakistan would also compete in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad, amongst other cities in India.