According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), India’s journey in the ODI World Cup will kick off with a match against Australia in Chennai on October 8. A highly anticipated match against their arch-rivals, Pakistan, will take place a week later in Ahmedabad. This information was revealed through the draft schedule shared by the BCCI with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The draft schedule is currently being reviewed by the participating countries, and a final schedule is expected to be released early next week.
As per the initial draft, the tournament will commence on October 5 with a match between reigning champions England and the runners-up of the last edition, New Zealand, in Ahmedabad. The final of the tournament will also be held in Ahmedabad on November 19.
The draft schedule includes eleven venues: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Pune, Lucknow, and Dharamsala. India, as the host nation, will play their league phase matches in nine different cities, including Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru. The highly anticipated clash with Pakistan is scheduled for October 15. Meanwhile, Pakistan will play their league matches in five cities. They are set to face the two teams progressing from the Qualifier on October 6 and 12 in Hyderabad, followed by matches against Australia in Bengaluru (October 20), Afghanistan (October 23), and South Africa (October 27) in Chennai. They will then play against Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 31, New Zealand in Bengaluru on November 5 (day match), and England in Kolkata on November 12.
There are several other notable fixtures, including Australia’s match against their Trans-Tasman rivals, New Zealand, in Dharamsala on October 29, and their encounter with England in Ahmedabad on November 4.
The tournament will feature a total of ten teams, with eight teams already confirmed and two additional teams set to qualify through the qualifiers.
Despite the tournament being just over four months away, there has been an unprecedented delay in releasing the schedule. In contrast, the schedules for the previous two editions of the tournament in 2015 and 2019 were finalized over a year in advance.
Here is India’s tentative schedule for the ODI World Cup:
- India vs Australia on October 8 in Chennai
- India vs Afghanistan on October 11 in Delhi
- India vs Pakistan on October 15 in Ahmedabad
- India vs Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune
- India vs New Zealand on October 22 in Dharamsala
- India vs England on October 29 in Lucknow
- India vs Qualifier on November 2 in Mumbai
- India vs South Africa on November 5 in Kolkata
- India vs Qualifier on November 11 in Bengaluru
