Bangladesh could also play most of their matches in Kolkata and Guwahati as it would reduce the travel distance for fans from the neighbouring country.
With October-November being the monsoon season, the BCCI is planning to wrap up the matches in the country’s southern parts before the first week of November.
The Indian team, sources said, requested the BCCI to allot fixtures against Australia, England, New Zealannd and South Africa to venues that aid spinners. It told the board that it prefers slow pitches as it wants to maximise the so-called home advantage, a trend it has been following over the past few years.
“The Indian team has performed well on slow tracks in the past few years at home. So the team management had requested that whenever the schedule is being prepared the Indian team should face top teams on slow pitches. They wanted to have a home advantage,” a source in the BCCI said.
Sources said the state units have already given their wish list to the BCCI, but a call on allotment of the matches to venues would be taken only by the BCCI. But they added there’s a strong chance of Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium hosting India’s match against Australia, while games against New Zealand, England, South Africa will be played in other centers where pitches will be slow.
The BCCI has earmarked more than Rs 500 crore to upgrade stadiums across the country before the 50-over World Cup. BCCI secretary Jay Shah had earlier stated that the board will be upgrading its infrastructure, with clean toilets, easy access and clean seats the top priorities after recent criticism over the condition of stadiums.
2023 ODI Cricket World Cup: India vs Pakistan to be held at Ahmedabad’s Modi Stadium.
indianexpress.com