A week after media reports claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was rescheduling the India-Pakistan match, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah confirmed that because ” “Several member countries” have complained about the fixtures of the International Cricket Cup. (ICC) 2023 ODI World Cup, the schedule will be changed.
After BCCI and ICC announced the schedule of the much-awaited tournament to be held in India from October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, this is the second time in just one month that a game in the tournament has been postponed.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has requested the ICC recce team to change the schedule of the November 12 match between Pakistan and England as the game falls on the occasion of Kali Puja.
Kali Puja is the second biggest festival in West Bengal and a large contingent of police will be deployed across the city to maintain law and order situation. This will make it impossible for the government to deploy security personnel for Eden Gardens duty.
While CAB president Snehaish Ganguly denied sending the request, the Kolkata police have raised the security issue, JEE News reported, citing senior CAB officials.
A senior CAB official reportedly said: “Kolkata police have cited concerns about providing security for the match on Diwali.
“We have informed the ICC and BCCI to reschedule it and if it doesn’t happen, we will inform the Chief Minister about it.
“The official was part of a meeting with the 17-member ICC and BCCI inspection team.
The CAB chief, however, remained tight-lipped on the matter, waiting for official confirmation before taking it to the ICC.
Sanihashish, who is the elder brother of former BCCI president and India captain Sourav Ganguly, said: “We have not received anything official from the Kolkata police yet.”
“Until we get anything official, we can’t inform ICC. Kolkata Police is looking after the security issue. That’s not our view. Like I said, we haven’t got anything official. , if we find anything. We will inform the ICC.”
JEE News report further stated that some top CAB officials had visited the Kolkata Police Headquarters in Lal Bazaar a few days ago.
Sanihashish, however, termed the visit as a “courtesy call”.
He said, “We went to the Kolkata police two days ago for a courtesy call, we had a discussion with them.
Meanwhile, the CAB has already requested the BCCI to pull the England-Pakistan match from November 12 to 11, after the Kolkata Police met with the CAB in which they said they would not allow the Pakistan match. Expecting an increase in security.
The schedule of ODI World Cup will be changed
Media reports last week claimed that the India-Pakistan match had a possible change as it fell on the first day of Navratri – a festival celebrated across Gujarat with massive participation.
In light of the festival, security agencies had advised the BCCI to alter the itinerary, citing failure to provide adequate security.
However, Jay brushed these reports aside.
“If there was a security issue, why would the match go there [Ahmedabad]? [October] 14-15 is not the issue. Two or three boards have written, asking for a change based on logistical challenges.
“There are some matches where there is only a two-day break, so it will be difficult to play and then travel the next day,” Shah said after the BCCI meeting in Delhi on Thursday.
“As far as possible, we are looking at not changing the venue and the matches. Not changing the venue is very important.
“For teams that have a six-day gap, we are trying to reduce it to four to five days; and for teams that only have a two-day gap, we are trying to increase it to three days.”
Shah also confirmed that several Phil members have asked to reschedule some matches of the mega event.
“There is a possibility that there may be some changes in the schedule. Several full member countries have written a request to change two or three dates in the schedule. We are working with the ICC, and we have to finish it in two. Should be able to do it. Or three days,” he concluded.
