"Mohali was not meeting the standard fixed by ICC" - BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla on allocation of venues for 2023 World Cup 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refuted allegations of bias in regards to allocations of the venues for the ICC World Cup 2023. On Tuesday, June 27, the schedule for the 13th edition of the men's World Cup was officially announced at an ICC event in Mumbai.

A total of 48 World Cup matches, including the two semi-finals and the final, will be held across 10 venues in India. The Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, which is a regular host to bilaterals and IPL matches, wasn't included as a host of any 2023 World Cup matches.

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayat condemned the exclusion of Mohali from the quadrennial tournament. The minister alleged political interference to decide the venues of the World Cup.

However, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, who is a Member of Indian Parliament in Rajya Sabha, said the Mohali venue did not meet the ICC standards. Speaking to news agency ANI, Shukla said:

"All bilateral matches will be given to Mohali, there will be no discrimination. 100th Test match of Virat Kohli had been given to Mohali. Their Mullanpur stadium is getting ready and said to be finished."

Shukla added:

"Had Mullanpur been ready, they would have definitely hosted the World Cup, but Mohali was not meeting the standard fixed by ICC. That's why it has been denied."

"We need the consent of ICC also while picking up these venues" - BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla

Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune are the cities to host the 2023 World Cup fixtures. Meanwhile, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram along with Hyderabad will host the warm-up games from September 29 to October 3.

Ahmedabad will host important fixtures like the tournament opener England vs New Zealand on October 5, the marquee clash of India vs Pakistan on October 15 and the final on November 19. Mumbai and Kolkata will host the first and second semi-final matches, respectively.

Speaking on the fair allocation of venues for the World Cup, Rajeev Shukla commented:

"I think it is a well-dropped schedule. Everybody has pondered over it and new venues have been added. Lucknow and Guwahati have been given a chance. UP never got a chance to host a World Cup ever before. A lot many venues from South has been added. They have given a fair amount of consideration before finalising the venues."

The BCCI vice-president added:

"Secondly, you should always keep in mind (that) ICC has to approve all those venues. It's not probably in BCCI's hands. All those who are alleging objections should realise that we need the consent of ICC also while picking up these venues."

India will host the World Cup for the fourth time, but this will be the first time they will be the single host country for the showpiece event.

India jointly-hosted the 1987 World Cup (with Pakistan), the 1996 World Cup (with Pakistan and Sri Lanka), and the 2011 World Cup (with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh).