India is gearing up for the ICC World Cup 2023 and the state cricket associations are preparing in their best way to get ready before the D-Day arrives. As a part of its preparations, Delhi & District Cricket Association is upgrading the outfield of Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium.
However, this is not the first stadium to be renovated as Wankhede stadium in Mumbai started its work on outfield as soon a the group stages of IPL ended. The Mumbai Cricket Association also confirmed that they will be renovating the stadium’s hospitality boxes.
Eden Gardens in Kolkata is also undergoing rapid transformation of the club house, press box and the galleries currently. An ICC team of six visited the ground recently for inspection. The renovation work reportedly satisfied the team.
India will host the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup from October 5 to November 19, 2023. The upcoming World Cup will feature a total of 10 teams. India, as the host nation, has secured direct qualification, along with Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa. These teams earned their spots through their performance in the 2020-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. Ireland and Netherlands qualified through the World Cup Qualifiers which took place in Zimbabwe.
Ten sides will compete across 45 round-robin league matches to secure semi-final berths in Mumbai and Kolkata. Ahmedabad will host the epic final on November 19.
India’s World Cup Fixtures
Formerly the Feroz Shah Kotla, the Arun Jaitley Stadium is the home venue for the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Founded in 1883, it hosted World Cup matches in 1987, 1996 and 2011
The highest ODI total in Delhi remains the West Indies’ 330-8 against the Netherlands in the 2011 edition. In the same tournament, Player-of-the-Tournament Yuvraj Singh claimed 2-43 and made a 73-ball 51 not out against the Dutch. Delhi also witnessed AB de Villiers smash 107 not out against the West Indies.
The stadium will host five World Cup matches including the India game against Afghanistan on October 11th.
Delhi will also host South Africa vs Sri Lanka on October 7th, England vs Afghanistan on October 15th, Australia vs Netherlands on October 25th and Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka on November 6th. All the matches will start from 2pm IST.