ICC reconnaissance team assessing ODI World Cup venues in India

The 2023 ODI World Cup is set to be hosted in India in October-November. The International Cricket Council (ICC) reconnaissance team is currently visiting all the host venues for the mega event. In total, the tournament will be played in 10 stadiums across as many cities. The final will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, whereas the first and second semifinals are to be held in Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively. 

The ICC team, consisting of security, events, and broadcast experts, is already in India and started their assessment at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai; after that, they headed towards Chennai, Bengaluru, and Trivandrum for the assessment. As per reports, the team was happy with M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, but have made some suggestions to the Kerala Cricket Association for Trivandrum Stadium. 

"They are extremely happy with our planning; the only thing left to address from our side is the ticketing issue. We have called an Apex Council meeting on Monday to decide on pricing, and we will inform the BCCI accordingly," Amol Kale, the MCA president was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. 

A Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) official said: "They seemed satisfied with our facilities. We look forward to hearing from them if they have anything in mind. They will write to us."

Meanwhile, the BCCI has granted INR 50 crore to each state association that will be hosting 2023 ODI World Cup games to uprgade infrastructure in a bid to ensure a better experience for the fans. Rohit Sharma and Co. will be looking to win the World Cup at home to end India’s ICC trophy drought running since 2013. 

Interestingly, it will be the first time when India will be hosting the event solely, having co-hosted the 1987,1996 and 2011 editions. This will also be the last edition when the marquee event will consist total of 10 teams and round robin format, as there will be 14 teams from the next edition.