IND vs PAK reschedule to start chain reaction of changes in other World Cup 2023 fixtures

It is clear that the India vs Pakistan game for the ICC World Cup will undergo a change and is likely to be preponed to October 14. Apart from this game a couple of nations have raised their objections to the World Cup schedule and thus small tweaks will be made to the original schedule. This in turn can have a chain reaction which can possibly see a few other games being rescheduled from the originally slated schedule.

“Two-three ICC Full Member nations have raised objections regarding the schedule. The teams which have a six-day gap will be reduced and the teams which have a two-day gap will be increased. The logistics team of both BCCI and ICC is working on it. No venue will be changed, only date and time will be changed,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah told the media.

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There will however no change in venue for the games, with slight tweaks in terms of the date and timings of a few games. News18 CricketNext has reported that apart from India vs Pakistan game, England vs Afghanistan can be rescheduled to pave the way for the high-profile game.

The highly anticipated India vs Pakistan game was initially stated to commence on 15th October at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. But as the day clash with the opening day of the Hindu festival Navratri, there will be a huge problem in maintaining the safety and security at the state.

As a result, the game is likely to be preponed to a day ahead on 14th October. The BCCI is, however, unwilling to schedule 2 games on the days which India plays to optimize safety concerns. Therefore England vs Afghanistan (Day & Night game) which is slated to be played on 14th October is likely to be rescheduled. The morning game of 14th October, i.e New Zealand vs Bangladesh and thus be shifted to 15th October.

Not just IND vs PAK, World Cup 2023 Schedule could see more changes

“The D/N game in Delhi on October 14 between England and Afghanistan is all likely to move to Sunday, possibly to a day game, because India-Pakistan has to be moved to Saturday D/N. The morning game on Saturday will also need to move to Sunday because the broadcaster too would want to maximise from the India-Pakistan fixture and have it as the only fixture on the day, just like all India matches,” a source close to developments told CricketNext.

Schedule Tweaks and their Effect on the Teams

The hosts India play Afghanistan on 11th October at Delhi. Following this they will travel to Ahmedabad for the much-anticipated encounter against their bitter rivals. Should the rescheduled game take place on 14th October, India will earn an extra day to prepare for their next game against Bangladesh on 19th October in Pune.

The dynamics are a bit different for Pakistan. Pakistan faces Sri Lanka on 12th October at Hyderabad and then playing India at Ahmedabad on 14th October means that the Babar Azam-led team will get much-reduced preparation time. This opens the possibility of Pakistan vs Sri Lanka game being rescheduled. After the India game, Pakistan take on Australia at Bengaluru.

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For New Zealand the change in schedule won’t cause much harm. Should the New Zealand vs Bangladesh game be shifted to the 15th from the 14th, the Kiwis won’t mind as they are slated to stay in Chennai for a week which will see them face Afghanistan on 18th October.

India’s neighbor Bangladesh won’t have big problems with the rescheduling of the games. The Bengal Tigers face England on 10th October and then New Zealand. Now should the game against the Kiwis be shifted, Bangladesh has ample time to prepare for their next game against India on 19th October in Pune.

England was slated to play Bangladesh on October 14, and now a change to the 15th should see the three lions facing South Africa on 21st October. No such big changes or trouble for the defending champions.

Afghanistan is likely to be in a spot of bother with the schedule changes. The Afghan side face India on 11th October in Delhi. If the match against England is shifted to 15th, they get less practice for the game on the 18th of October against New Zealand at Chennai. For Sri Lanka there are not noteworthy changes except for the match against Pakistan on 12th October to be swapped to be a day game.

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