Karachi: The warm-up fixture of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 between Pakistan and New Zealand will be played without spectators, Indian media reported yesterday.

According to the Indian media, the Hyderabad city police expressed concerns regarding their inability to provide adequate security for the match, scheduled for September 29, which consequently led to the decision to hold the warm-up fixture without the spectators. Notably, the Ganesh Visarjan and Milad-un-Nabi festivals, which are expected to draw sizable crowds and necessitate a significant police presence, coincide with the date of the warm-up game between Pakistan and New Zealand.

“The processions will go on late into the night and the local police would not be able to provide adequate security for a match of this scale,” a BCCI official said. “There will continue to be full security for both the teams during their stay and transit to the stadium.” Consequently, the tickets for spectators will be refunded by the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI), in coordination with the hosting association and ticketing partners.

Last month, the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan fixture at this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup was rescheduled to October 14, while details of eight other matches had also been changed.

The high-octane clash India-Pakistan World Cup fixture was originally slated to take place on October 15 but the date coincided with the beginning of the Navratri, a festival celebrated with mass participation across Gujarat.

Consequently, the law-enforcement agencies advised the Board of Control for Cricket in India to make a tweak. As a result, England’s fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi will be moved from Saturday, 14 October and will now be played 24 hours later on Sunday, 15 October. Pakistan’s contest against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad has moved from Thursday, 12 October to now being played on Tuesday, 10 October and Australia’s big match against South Africa in Lucknow moved back 24 hours and will now be played on Thursday, 12 October instead of Friday, 13 October. Similarly, New Zealand’s game against Bangladesh originally scheduled as a day match for 14 October in Chennai has been moved back and will now be held on Friday, 13 October and be played as a day-night contest.

From the initial phase of the tournament, a minor change to the fixture refers to the timing of England’s match-up against Bangladesh in Dharamsala, with the clash becoming a day match and a 10:30AM (local time) start after it was originally scheduled as a day-night fixture. Towards the end of the league stage, there are three changes with the double-header encounters of Sunday, 12 November being moved a day earlier to Saturday, 11 November – Australia vs Bangladesh in Pune (10:30AM) and England vs Pakistan in Kolkata (02:00PM).

Meanwhile, India’s last league game against the Netherlands has now been shifted from 11 to 12 November, a day-night clash to be played in Bengaluru.

The World Cup commences on Thursday, 5 October when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on Sunday, 19 November.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 20 2023

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