ICC World Cup 2019: Team India to play the tournament opener against South Africa

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, that will be hosted in England is set to kick-off with a high-octane match. The main draw tournament starts with Team India taking on South Africa on June 4, 2019. The International Cricket Council (ICC) made the decision at a meeting held in Kolkata on April 24. Following the meeting, it was announced that India who last won the title in 2011 will face South Africa in the tournament that gets underway on May 30.

ICC today just revealed the dates for the opening and final matches and based on that, the summit clash is slated for July 14. It is expected that the detailed schedule will be announced by the end of April.

Among the other decisions made in the meeting was with regards to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. Since the World Cup is to be played towards the end of May, the IPL which usually ends pretty late in the same month has been pushed ahead. The 12th season of the IPL is expected to start on March 29 and the final will be played on May 19.

Thus, the teams will have only a little over a fortnight to get off the IPL and prepare for a much greater challenge in national colours.

Along with that, it was also announced that the Indian team that is currently at the top of the ICC Test rankings will play 19 Test matches at home during the 2019-2023 period as per the Future Tours Program (FTP).

Appointment of the ICC chairman

At the meeting, the appointment of the chairman was also discussed. While the ICC is keen on retaining current head Shashank Manohar who had earlier handed his resignation, former ECB chairman Giles Clarke is another name in the ring. If Manohar accepts ICC’s offer to continue serving at the position there will be no need for an election.

If there is one, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will oppose Manohar, a former BCCI president’s candidature. However, he has more votes in favour and the Indian board will not accomplish a lot with the opposition.

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