Apex Cricket Body announces schedule for 2023 ODI World Cup in India

The Apex Cricket Council has finalized the schedule for the 2023 ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to be hosted by India. The schedule is the same as the Indian Cricket Board proposed earlier to the Council. The marquee event is scheduled to kickstart on October 5th and will conclude on November 19th. The opening match of the tournament will be played between the finalists of the previous edition, where the defending champions England will take on New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. On the other hand, the hosts India will kickstart their campaign against Australia at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8th.

The most anticipated encounter of the tournament between India and Pakistan is scheduled to be played on October 15th in Ahmedabad. Earlier, there were speculations that Pakistan may propose to change the venue for the clash against India. Notably, the India-Pakistan match during the 2016 T20 World Cup was shifted to Kolkata from Dharamsala due to security concerns.

Semi-final 1 of World Cup 2023 will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 15th, while the second semi-final is scheduled at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 16th November. The final will take place on 19th November at the largest cricket stadium in the world: Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This will be the first time that India will fully host the World Cup in their country. Earlier, India co-hosted the tournament with the neighbouring countries in 1987, 1996 and 2011.

World Cup trophy travelled to space

Ahead of this, the ODI World Cup trophy became the first-ever international trophy to be sent to space. The trophy was sent to space at 120,000 feet and -65 degree-Celsius on June 26th. In a stunning video shared by the Indian Cricket Board secretary Jay Shah, it can be seen that the scientists are sending the World Cup trophy to space before landing at the Ahmedabad Stadium.

The picturesque images were shared where the trophy can be seen sitting on the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. The unique imagery was achieved after the trophy was attached to a bespoke stratospheric balloon. Now the trophy will travel to 18 countries including India, USA, Italy, France, Uganda, Nigeria, Malaysia, Bahrain, and Kuwait. The tour will begin on June 27 and will conclude on September 4th.