The high-profile clash between India and Pakistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup is all set to be staged at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
This will be the first clash between the two arch-rivals on Indian soil since the T20 World Cup in 2016, the Indian Express reported on Friday.
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to host the high-voltage match at the Ahmedabad stadium in anticipation of a large number of fans who are expected to travel to India from abroad for the fixture, it is learnt. With a seating capacity of 1 lakh, the Narendra Modi Stadium is the country’s largest," the report added.
Narendra Modi Stadium -- the world's largest cricket stadium -- could host India's two matches in the league stages, while Pakistan could play majority of their matches in Chennai and Bengaluru due to security reasons, with Kolkata's Eden Gardens also under consideration.
The ODI World Cup to be held in October-November will be announced in a grand launch by the BCCI after the ongoing IPL 2023 is over.
The World Cup is likely to kick off on October 5, with matches scheduled to take place in Nagpur, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Rajkot, Indore, Bengaluru and Dharamshala.
The BCCI has consulted with the Indian team management and sought its preferences for the matches, apart from the one with Pakistan. The Indian team has requested the BCCI to allot fixtures against Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa at venues where spinners could come into play.
“The Indian team has performed well on slow tracks in the past few years at home. So the team management had requested that whenever the schedule is being prepared the Indian team should face top teams on slow pitches. They wanted to have the home advantage,” a source in the BCCI was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
