Eden Gardens in Kolkata has emerged as a strong favourite to host a semifinal during the Men's ODI World Cup 2023 later this year. Cricbuzz understands that a last-minute change has been made in the highly anticipated schedule.
ICC MEN'S ODI WORLD CUP, 2023
Eden Gardens in the fray to host World Cup semifinal
Will Eden Gardens host a semifinal come November? © BCCI/IPL
The decision to allot a semifinal to Eden Gardens took shape at a meeting of the state associations of host cities with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and International Cricket Council (ICC) officials on Monday (June 26). There were 12 associations who attended the meeting.
One of the reasons for moving a semifinal from Chennai to Kolkata was the potential weather in October-November in the Tamil Nadu capital city. The region experiences North-East monsoon in those months and the BCCI/ICC felt the city may not be the best option for a knockout game. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) will, however, get a few World Cup games. The state board's representative was at the aforementioned meeting held in Mumbai. The associations were also explained about operational functions expected of a host association.
The 12 venues for the World Cup are expected to be New Delhi and Dharamsala in the North Zone, Lucknow in the Central Zone, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Pune in the West, Kolkata and Guwahati in the East, and Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram in the South. Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will only host warm-up games, while the other 10 centers will stage the 48 official World Cup matches, including the three knockout games.
Initially, Wankhede (Mumbai) and Chepauk (Chennai) were near lock-ins as venues for the semifinal matches. Then Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore cropped up as one of the options; and now just hours before the final unveiling of the games, Kolkata emerged as a strong contender alongside Mumbai and Chennai. The semifinal matches, though, will most likely be played in Mumbai and Kolkata.
Regarding the demand from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to change the venues for their matches, the ICC has