ICC finally revealed a much-awaited ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 schedule on Tuesday, June 27, notably 100 days before the mega tournament in India. Kolkata's iconic Eden Gardens is set to host five World Cup games, including the India-South Africa (November 5) and the second semi-final match (November 16).
Mumbai's Wankede Stadium will be hosting the first semi-final while the final will be played at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Eden Gardens has been selected to host a semi-final clash ahead of the likes of Bengaluru and Chennai. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Snehasish Ganguly revealed that Eden Gardens' aura and a little bit of renovation boosted their chances to win hosting rights for two big matches.
"There were a lot of talks going around in the media whether Eden Gardens will get any good matches or not, but I chose to just keep quiet," Snehaish Ganguly told reporters at Eden Garden on Tuesday.
Ganguly revealed that he met The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah during the Women's Premier League and presented him with the renovation plans for Eden Gardens.
"There was never any question mark over Eden Gardens, we just had to make some renovation of the old structure and he (Jay Shah) was convinced after seeing our plans. I tried my best to convince Jay Shah. You can't deny Eden Gardens a big match. There is an aura about Eden Gardens. What we needed was a little bit of renovation. It all started four months back. It was not easy but not difficult also. It's the result of our hard work. We had gone through a lot of tension to get these five matches."
As reported earlier, Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium won the hosting rights for the high-voltage India-Pakistan game and final of the tournament. Pakistan's crucial game against England will be held in Kolkata on November 12. Ganguly added that Pakistan preferred playing in Kolkata over Bengaluru and Chennai and it played in favor of CAB.
"Pakistan have played previously in Kolkata. Their preference was first Kolkata then Bangalore and Chennai. It also clinched in favour of us," Ganguly added.
