The ICC Cricket World Cup could witness another change in the schedule as Hyderabad Cricket Association has reportedly written a matter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The 2023 World Cup schedule has already been tweaked drastically with as many as nine games rescheduled. The India vs Pakistan and the Pakistan vs England fixtures were preponed a day earlier, bringing in a series of tweaks.
Now schedule of another Pakistan game could be under threat with HCA writing to the Indian Board about security concerns of back-to-back matches. As per a report by Indian Express, the state body has alerted BCCI on security concerns of two consecutive matches, namely New Zealand vs Netherlands (October 9) and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka (October 10). This comes after the Hyderabad Police reportedly raised concerns over giving security for two back-to-back World Cup matches, especially the Pakistan one.
The Pakistan vs Sri Lanka clash was rescheduled to October 10 from its original date on October 12. This move was made when India vs Pakistan match was rescheduled from October 15 to 14 due to Navratri celebrations in Ahmedabad. Notably, the Pakistan vs England match which was originally planned to be held November 12 at Eden Gardens has been preponed a day earlier. This was due to the match coinciding with a major Bengali festival Kali Puja. This forced tweaks in several other matches.
Nine World Cup matches rescheduled till now:
Due to these two matches, the schedule of seven other matches was changed. The Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match was rescheduled giving Pakistan enough time to travel for the India game. Australia's game vs South Africa will now be held on October 12, while New Zealand vs Bangladesh will take place on November 13.
Here is the list of nine matches rescheduled:
October 10 - England vs Bangladesh
October 10 - Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
October 12 - Australia vs South Africa
October 13 - New Zealand vs Bangladesh
October 14 - India vs Pakistan
October 15 - England vs Afghanistan
November 11 - Australia vs Bangladesh
November 11 - England vs Pakistan
November 12 - India vs Netherlands
