- Sunday, March 02, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The next 50-over world cup is just six months away but the marquee tournament’s itinerary has still not seen the light of the day as geopolitical hurdles hinder the buildup phase.
The delay is in stark contrast to the previous edition that was held in England and Wales. Dates and venues of the tournament were revealed more than a year ahead, which is generally the practice when it comes to big sporting events.
India is hosting the quadrennial tournament for the fourth time this year. In the previous three times, it co-hosted with its South Asian neighbours (with Pakistan in 1987; with Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996 and with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2011) but in October-November this year, it will host the tournament alone.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is the richest board in India and hosting a 10-team affair all by itself is not seen as a major challenge for the powerhouse.
But poor political relations with Pakistan have complicated things and cricket has found itself facing an uncertain future as the quarrelling neighbours play each other only in multi-team events and at neutral venues.
India have refused to play on Pakistani soil in the Asia Cup preceding the world cup and are likely to play their matches at a neutral venue after the tournament’s organisers agreed over a ‘hybrid’ model. There were reports that Pakistan have also sought a similar arrangement when it comes to the world cup in India. The Pakistan Cricket Board though denied reports that it had made a similar demand at the International Cricket Council (ICC) board meetings in Dubai in March but last week, it said in a statement that it may push for the hybrid model “at the proper ICC forum at the right time”.
There were also reports that Pakistan could play their games in the world cup in Bangladesh.
The Indian board would have to secure visa clearance for the Pakistan players from New Delhi should Pakistan agree to send their players to its eastern neighbour.
Reuters reported citing an informed source that moving matches out of India had not come up for discussion and the fixtures would be revealed in “due course”.
Cricket news website cricinfo.com reported that the Indian board was yet to obtain a tax exemption for the tournament from the Indian government, which is part of the hosting agreement it signed with the ICC.
Should it fail to obtain the exemption, the board said the amount could be deducted from its share of the ICC’s central revenue pool.
It has been reported that the World Cup will kick off on October 5 and the final will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
