Wankhede Stadium, Eden Gardens to host ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 S/F: report
This means that Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium – another venue with a rich heritage – could miss out on hosting one of the ODI flagship’s biggest matches.
New Delhi, June 26: Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens – both iconic venues – have emerged as the front runners to host the two 2023 World Cup semi-finals.
This means that Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium – another venue with a rich heritage – could miss hosting one of the ODI flagship’s biggest matches.
“Wankhede in Mumbai and Eden Gardens in Kolkata are two likely venues for the World Cup semi-finals. Earlier, Chennai was also in the race, but it seems that Eden is now a bit ahead,” a BCCI source told PTI on Monday.
“One of the reasons could be the November weather in Chennai where there is always a chance of rain.” Twelve hosting associations convened in Mumbai on Monday to discuss details and finalize locations for Tuesday’s official announcement.
If India qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play their match of the last four legs in Mumbai.
The Wankhede Stadium hosted the 2011 World Cup final where India captained Mahendra Singh Dhoni defeated Sri Lanka to end a 28-year title drought, while the Eden Gardens played host to the summit showdown between Australia and England in the 1987 edition, in which the former country prevailed.
There will be 10 teams participating in the World Cup this year. As the host nation, India has qualified directly, as have Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa through the 2020-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.
Two other teams make it to the World Cup through the World Cup qualifiers, which are currently being played in Zimbabwe.
In addition to former champions Sri Lanka and the West Indies, the qualifiers also feature Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, UAE, USA and hosts Zimbabwe.
At the World Cup in India, the 10 teams play each other once in a round-robin league with 45 games.
This is followed by the semi-finals and the final.