Why the India vs Pakistan World Cup 2023 match in Ahmedabad could be rescheduled

The much-hyped India-Pakistan 2023 ODI World Cup match to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 15 could be rescheduled.

The schedule for the mega ICC event was announced after much delay on June 27. Now, according to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering shifting the date of the match from October 15 to October 14.

As per the website, the change is being considered since October 15 is the first day of the Hindu festival of Navaratri. The report also stated that the local police have informed the BCCI that it would find it difficult to look after security on the day.

The BCCI is said to have informed the ICC about the same. Also, the Indian cricket board is likely to conduct a meeting with all state associations that are hosting World Cup games on July 27. A final call on rescheduling could be taken after this meeting, the report added.

As per the current ICC World Cup 2023 schedule, two matches are to be played on October 14. New Zealand will face Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, while England and Afghanistan will clash in the second match of the double-header at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

If the India-Pakistan game in Ahmedabad is rescheduled to October 14, there will be three matches on a single day.

If the schedule is altered as per the above arrangement, then Pakistan will end up playing two World Cup matches in the space of three days. After kicking off their campaign against the Netherlands in Hyderabad on October 6, they will face Sri Lanka at the same venue on October 12.

Looking at India’s schedule, they will kick off their World Cup 2023 campaign with a big game against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8. Their second match in the ICC tournament will be versus Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi before they take on arch-rivals Pakistan.

---

India vs Pakistan ODI World Cup record

India and Pakistan have met each other seven times in the ODI World Cup and, rather incredibly, the Men in Blue have won all seven games. The first Indo-Pak clash in the ODI World Cup took place in Sydney in 1992, in which India emerged victorious by 43 runs.

The most recent meeting between the neighboring countries took place in Manchester in 2019, where the Men in Blue hammered Pakistan by 89 runs (D/L method).

India beat Pakistan by 39 runs in 1996 (Bengaluru), 47 runs in 1999 (Manchester), six wickets in 2003 (Centurion), 29 runs in the 2011 semi-final (Mohali), and 76 runs in 2015 (Adelaide).