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Cricket

The ICC and BCCI turn down Pakistan’s request to swap venues for two World Cup matches

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has allegedly filed a formal request to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to alter the location of two of their forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup matches. Pakistan is attempting to shift its chosen sites for the matches against Australia and Afghanistan in the next ODI World Cup, which will be held in India.

According to the current matchup, Pakistan will play Afghanistan in Chennai on October 23rd, while their match against Australia will be hosted in Bengaluru on October 20th. They are, however, keen on swapping the locations, preferring to play Australia in Chennai and Afghanistan in Bengaluru. According to the most recent events, the BCCI and ICC have declined Pakistan’s supreme cricket board’s plea.

The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is well-known for its support for spin bowlers. At the same time, Afghanistan has one of the strongest spin bowling assaults in limited-overs cricket, with players like as Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Noor Ahmed, among others, which has encouraged Pakistan to avoid playing them in the south coast city.

Meanwhile, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is likely to be a batting-friendly environment, where Australia’s powerhouse roster of players such as David Warner, Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell, among others, might take Pakistan’s bowling to task. That is why PCB did not want to play them in Karnataka’s capital city.

According to reports, the PCB even accused India of purposefully offering places where the Pakistan squad could have difficulties with pitch conditions, practise facilities, and travel arrangements. The reasoning for this proposal stems from a study that suggests that such a venue switch would put Pakistan as favourites against both countries, given their good performance across all elements of cricket.

The PCB’s internal correspondence has explained their goals, emphasising their opinion that this venue shift might benefit the team’s chances in the matches.

“Australia in Bengaluru and Afghanistan in Chennai are the two which we should look to get changed as much as possible,”the PCB’s internal communication  said.“Ideally, we can switch these around. Australia in Chennai and Afghanistan in Bengaluru would make us obvious favourites in both matches.”

PCB has also asked the ICC to replace Afghanistan with a warm-up match against one of South Africa, England, New Zealand, or Australia. Given that the PCB’s internal report makes no mention of a security danger, it is unclear whether ICC will even examine the request. The PCB has petitioned the ICC to modify the location of the India-Pakistan match, which is set to take place in Ahmedabad, but they have given up hope, knowing what the venue implies for India.

On October 15, India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The competition will take off on October 5 with a replay of the exciting 2019 World Cup final between England and New Zealand. On October 8, India will kick off their campaign against Australia in Chennai.

 

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