Rajiv Shukla explains reason for omission of Mohali as venue from ICC World Cup 2023
Delhi and Dharamshala are the two venues from North Zone hosting ICC Cricket World Cup games.
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The International Cricket Council has announced the schedule of the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 in India. The tournament will commence on 5th October with defending champions England taking on 2019 edition runner-up New Zealand at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium. India will start their campaign on 8th October against Australia at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. A controversy erupted after Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer objected to Mohali’s PCA Stadium not getting any game in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh said that due to political interference Mohali didn’t get to host any game in the tournament.
Rajiv Shukla responds to Punjab Sports Minister
Now, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla has claimed that the current stadium in Mohali did not meet the standards of the ICC, whose consent is crucial for choosing the venues. Rajiv Shukla said, “ For the first time, 12 venues have been chosen for the World Cup. Earlier, these many venues were not chosen in previous World Cups. Out of these 12 venues, warm-up matches will be held in Trivandrum and Guwahati, remaining will have league matches… From South Zone Four venues, from central zone one venue, West Zone Two, North Zone Two venues Delhi and Dharamshala will host the matches”.
Rajiv Shukla also added, “Virat Kohli’s 100th test was given to Mohali. Mullanpur Stadium is getting ready in Mohali. Had it been ready, they would have got a World Cup match. The current stadium in Mohali did not meet the standards of ICC and hence was denied matches. Bilateral series games will be given to them”. Delhi and Dharamshala will be hosting 5 games each in the World Cup league round. Rajiv Shukla also thinks that this World Cup will pave the way for the revival of the ODI format in Cricket.