The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has formally made a request to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to consider rescheduling the highly anticipated England vs Pakistan ODI World Cup match, originally slated to take place at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 12.
In their proposal, the CAB has suggested November 11 as a viable alternative date for the match. The city police have informed the CAB that they anticipate a need for heightened security measures for the upcoming game, as Pakistan is one of the participating teams.
Kalipujo, a significant Hindu festival, holds great importance in both the city and the region, and it is celebrated on November 12th.
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According to reliable sources at C2Dcricinfo, it has come to our understanding that officials from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) held a meeting with the local police authorities on Thursday.
During this meeting, the CAB officials were duly informed about the prevailing law-and-order concerns that could potentially impact the festival scheduled for that day.
Subsequently, the association corresponded with Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), formally requesting a modification of the scheduled date.
This incident follows closely after the Ahmedabad police recently conveyed their inability to ensure security for the India vs Pakistan game scheduled on October 15.
The reason cited was the clash with the first day of Navaratri, a significant nine-day Hindu festival celebrated in Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, as well as various other regions in northern India.
The game, which was originally scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad, has now been rescheduled for October 14.
However, an official statement from either the ICC or the BCCI regarding this change has not been released yet.
Meanwhile, Shah has expressed that the need to change the date, not only for this particular match but also for a few others, arose due to concerns raised by certain participating boards.
These boards had written to the BCCI, expressing their apprehensions regarding the travel arrangements between matches.
The Kolkata police’s ability to effectively manage both a major religious event and a major cricket match on the same day is not ideal.
The position held by the CAB is quite challenging and difficult. During the 2011 ODI World Cup, the India vs England match was scheduled to take place in Kolkata, at the renowned Eden Gardens stadium.
However, due to concerns about the stadium’s suitability, it was deemed unfit to host the game. In 2011, the venue hosted three games that did not involve India.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and cricket enthusiasts in Kolkata would strongly oppose the relocation of the highly anticipated England vs Pakistan match to a different city.
It has come to light that the officials of the association have also approached Mamata Banerjee, the esteemed Chief Minister of West Bengal, seeking her intervention in this matter.
In the initial World Cup schedule, Eden Gardens was designated to host a total of five matches.
These included the matches between Bangladesh and Netherlands on October 28, Bangladesh and Pakistan on October 31, India and South Africa on November 5, England and Pakistan on November 12, and finally, the second semi-final on November 16.
After a significant delay, the World Cup schedule was finally unveiled on June 27, a mere 100 days prior to the anticipated commencement of the tournament on October 5 in Ahmedabad.
In contrast, the schedules for the previous two editions of the tournament, held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, and in England and Wales in 2019, were made available well over a year in advance.
The commencement of the World Cup is set to feature a captivating match between the reigning champions, England, and New Zealand.
The tournament is slated to conclude on November 5. However, despite the anticipation surrounding this prestigious event, there has been a lack of information regarding the release date for ticket sales.
