Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed his disappointment after Kerala was not allocated an ODI World Cup 2023 match. The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday released the complete schedule of the 13th edition of the Men's Cricket World Cup that is set to be played over 46 days from October 5 onwards. The main draw of the tournament will be played across 10 cities and Kerela is not on the list.
Issuing a statement after the World Cup schedule announcement, Tharoor stated that he is disappointed to not see Thiruvananthapuram on the venue list for the tournament. "Disappointed to see that Thiruvananthapuram's Sports Hub, hailed by many as the best cricket stadium in India, is missing from the World Cup 2023 fixture list. Ahmedabad is becoming the new cricket capital of the country, but could a match or two not have been allotted to Kerala?" Tharoor said on Twitter.
Thiruvananthapuram in the Warm-up list
Notably, Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram is among the venues that will feature warm-up games before the tournament kicks off on October 5. While announcing the venues for the tournament, BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated that Thiruvananthapuram is among the 12 cities that will be hosting the World Cup. The city along with Guwahati and Hyderabad will witness the practice matches ahead of the main draw of the World Cup kicks off.
As per the schedule released, there will be 48 matches played across 46 days in India. 10 teams will be locking horns for the ultimate glory in cricket. England and New Zealand will play the tournament opener on October 5, while India will open their campaign against Australia in Chennai.
