Pakistan to Seek Neutral Venue for 2023 World Cup Matches
The contentious issue of hosting rights has once again come to the forefront as Pakistan prepares to request that their 2023 World Cup matches be played at a neutral venue. The refusal of India to travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup led to a hybrid model being adopted for the tournament.
Despite the confirmed dates for both the World Cup and Asia Cup, Pakistan has reignited the debate over hosting rights and is now demanding that their World Cup matches be held at a neutral venue.
In a significant move, Pakistan is poised to seek a similar arrangement for the 2023 World Cup matches scheduled to take place in India. Zaka Ashraf, Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is set to make the request during an upcoming ICC meeting in Durban. Pakistan is slated to play their World Cup matches in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad, with the highly anticipated India-Pakistan encounter scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad and their semi-final at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens.
It’s worth noting that Pakistan has refrained from undertaking any cricket assignments in India since the 2016 T20 World Cup. In that tournament, the India-Pakistan match was relocated from Dharamshala to Kolkata shortly before the game commenced.
