India may reschedule more World Cup matches apart from clash with Pakistan

“Two or three boards have written in, asking to change based on the logistical challenges. There are some matches where there is only a two-day gap, so it will be difficult to play and then travel next day. We are working out with the ICC, and we should be able to clear it in two or three days,” Reuters quoted Shah

However, there is still no confirmation on whether or not the clash between arch-rivals India-Pakistan will be preponed to October 14, as the original scheduled day (October 15) is clashing with the first day of Navaratri.

Against the usual practice of announcing the match fixtures like an year prior, the Indian cricket governing body announced the schedule just 100 days before the marquee tournament.

Leaving very little time for preparations, BCCI is now planning to bring in changes and leaving excited fans in a bit of turmoil as few of them have made hotel bookings to watch their favourite matches.

“Since October 15 coincides with the opening day of Navratri celebrations, the security agencies have advised that the big game, which will also need heavy deployment of security officials, should be rescheduled,” PTI quoted a BCCI source.While the game will still be played in the Narendra Modi stadium, the fans may have to change their travel plans as ICC and BCCI will sit on to further discuss the issue.While the hosts will kickstart their 50-over World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8, Pakistan have their first two matches scheduled for October 6 and 12 in Hyderabad.

This might leave the Babar-Azam led team in a bit of foray as they only get a little amount of time to prepare for the high profile clash.

BCCI calls for a meeting to take updates on World Cup preparations

The BCCI has called for a meeting in New Delhi with all the state associations hosting World Cup matches most likely on July 28, to take stock of the preparations. During this meeting, the cricket governing body will also discuss the possible date change of the India-Pakistan game in the meeting.

“The meeting has been called to assess the preparations for the World Cup,” a state unit official told PTI.

On July 26, BCCI secretary Jay Shah wrote to the state associations on formation of a Working Group for the World Cup.

The five office-bearers of the BCCI, including Shah and BCCI president Roger Binny, will oversee the preparations of all the venues, including the warm-up ones in Trivandrum and Guwahati.

(With inputs from Agencies)