Reports: Mohali out of contention to host matches during ODI World Cup 2023

The Punjab Cricket Association I.S. Bindra Stadium, in Mohali, might not host a single match of the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, scheduled to be held later this year in India. The ground famously hosted the high-voltage semi-final of the 2011 ODI World Cup between India and Pakistan which India won by 29 runs.

Reports of Mohali being left out of the venues finalised for the mega event surfaced after it did not feature in the list of probable venues for the tournament, according to reports.

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, ODI World Cup 2023 will feature 48 matches which will be played from October 5 to November 19 across 12 cities in India namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot and Mumbai.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, hasn’t finalised the venues for any of the matches except the final which will be played at the massive Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“Nothing has been communicated to us officially from the BCCI, so I won’t be able to comment on the same,” Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) secretary Dilsher Khanna was quoted as saying by News18.

According to a report, PCA has expedited the construction work at its new Mullanpur Stadium in Mohali to get it ready for the World Cup. The PCA Stadium has earlier hosted four ICC World Cup matches and three ICC World T20 matches so far.

Eden Gardens couldn't host India vs England game in the 2011 World Cup

During the 2011 World Cup, the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata missed out on a chance to host a thrilling group stage match between India and England, as the renovation work at the stadium could not be completed on time.

However, the match which was played on February 27, 2011, was shifted to M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Interestingly enough. the match resulted in a tie. Albeit, Kolkata did host the rest of the scheduled matches viz- Ireland versus South Africa, Ireland versus the Netherlands and Kenya versus Zimbabwe, which were not grand affairs.

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