The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released the new schedule of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Wednesday, August 9. As many as nine games have been rescheduled from their earlier dates to accommodate all the contingencies indicated by the police departments of various cities due to the festivals of Navaratri, Kali Pooja and Diwali across India.
Probably the biggest match of the tournament, India vs Pakistan, which was earlier scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 15 at Ahmedabad, Narendra Modi Stadium has been moved to a day earlier on Saturday, October 14 as the high-octane clash was coinciding with the first day of Navratri festival in the city. The England vs Afghanistan encounter in Chennai, which was earlier scheduled for October 14 as the second match of the day, has been shifted to October 15, Sunday as the sole game.
The first game of October 14 in the earlier schedule - New Zealand vs Bangladesh has been shifted to October 13, Friday in Delhi. Similarly, the Australia-South Africa clash supposed to take place in Lucknow on October 13 will now be held on Thursday, October 12.
Consequently, the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game in Hyderabad has been moved from October 12 to Tuesday, October 10, giving them enough days to prepare for the big clash against India. The Pakistan-Sri Lanka game will now be the second game of the double-header with the England-Bangladesh encounter in Dharamsala being converted into a day game.
Other major changes include the Australia-Bangladesh and England-Pakistan games earlier slated for November 12 (Diwali) getting moved to Saturday, November 11 and the India-Netherlands game getting the Diwali date on Sunday, in Bengaluru.
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
More to follow...
