It Is Not Easy To Change World Cup Schedule; It’s Unlikely To Happen: Rajeev Shukla On Hyderabad Asking For Change

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium: Rajeev Shukla, the Vice-President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has said that the request made by the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for making a change in the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup is unlikely to happen, citing the difficulty in making changes to it.

The HCA, which calls Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal as its home ground, made a request for a change in the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup schedule after the local police raised concerns over it hosting back-to-back matches, including the marquee clash between former champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“I am in charge of Hyderabad venue for WC. If there will be any issue or anything, will try to get it resolved. It is not easy to change the World Cup schedule and it’s unlikely to happen. Only BCCI can’t change schedule, teams, ICC, all involved,” said Shukla on the sidelines of the UPT20 League launch.

The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) is scheduled to host only three of the 45 matches with the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match scheduled for October 12. It is scheduled to host the New Zealand versus the Netherlands clash on October 9 followed by the Pakistan-Sri Lanka on the very next day.

But with the BCCI reworking fixtures for nine matches to accommodate clashes with other schedules to avoid security hassles, the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match was moved ahead to October 10 from its original date of October 12. This concern comes five days before the first phase of 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup tickets go on sale from August 25.

The Hyderabad Police has informed HCA that organising back-to-back matches may result in them failing to provide adequate security to the Pakistan team; it will also require posting a sufficient number of troops at the stadium and the team hotel.

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Apparently, as per multiple reports, the HCA was not consulted before the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match was moved ahead. It is now to be seen how BCCI will respond to this request as it has already faced severe criticism from foreign media over the first change of schedule.