ICC World Cup 2023 schedule announcement highlights: India vs Pakistan on October 15, final in Ahmedabad

“Australia, England, India and Pakistan – these are the four semifinalist.” - prediction by Virender Sehwag 

"We played the 2011 World Cup for Sachin Tendulkar" - Virender Sehwag

Since the tournament is being played in a round-robin format, the knockouts starts from the semifinals. 

The first semifinal will be played on November 15 in Mumbai. The second semifinal will be played a day later in Kolkata.

The final will be played on November 19 in Ahmedabad.

IND vs AUS: October 8, Chennai 

IND vs AFG: October 11, Delhi

IND vs PAK: October 15, Ahmedabad 

IND vs BAN: October 19, Pune

IND vs NZ: October 22, Dharamshala

IND vs ENG: October 29, Lucknow

IND vs QF2: November 2, Mumbai 

IND vs SA: November 5, Kolkata

IND vs QF1: November 11, Bengaluru 

India will start their campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8. 

Will play against Pakistan on October 15 in Ahmedabad. 

The schedule for the big event has been released by ICC.

England and New Zealand kick-off the event at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 5. 

Muttiah Muralitharan, Geoff Allardyce, and Virender Sehwag have reached St Regis, Mumbai for the World Cup fixture announcement. The event will start in a couple of minutes.

India last won the World Cup back in 2011 and reached the final four stage in the next two editions – 2015 and 2019. Will India lift their third title this year?

As per a report in ANI – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram as the 12 cities to host ICC ODI World Cup matches.

A total of 48 matches will be played during the course of 46 days in the World Cup. 

The league matches are reported to be played in 10 different cities across India, and two more cities is likely to host the warm-up games before the main event.

As per the information available on the ICC website, the 2023 edition of the Trophy Tour will be the biggest by far.

Starting on June 27, the trophy will travel to 18 countries around the world, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, USA, Nigeria, Uganda, France, Italy, the United States of America and the host country India.

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Trophy was launched into the stratosphere, 120,000 feet above the earth. It then made a stunning landing at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The pictures and details of the trophy launch was shared by ICC on their social media account.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah, former India opener Virender Sehwag, spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan, and ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice will be LIVE on Star Sports social handles for the schedule launch, which will be followed by a conversation. 

It starts from 12:00 PM onwards!

If we look at the other table, which is Group B, Sri Lanka, Scotland and Oman have already qualified for the Super 6 stage. 

Only top two teams from Super 6 qualify for the main event.

Zimbabwe take four points into the Super Sixes stage of the competition and Netherlands two, but West Indies will have zero and must win all three of their remaining games to stand a chance of reaching the World Cup in India that starts in October.

Things get tough for West Indies as they face an uphill battle to remain alive in the ongoing ICC World Cup qualifiers. The team faced a shocking Super Over defeat against Netherlands on Monday and will now have to win all their remaining three matches.

The ICC hyped up the tournament announcing the World Cup 2023 Trophy tour, which will see the silverware embark on an extensive journey. It will visit 18 countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, USA, Nigeria, Uganda, France, Italy, the United States of America and of course, the host country India. The trophy tour kicked off in extravagant fashion with the ICC launching the silverware into the stratosphere. Reaching at altitude of 120,000 feet above the earth, the trophy was attached to a stratospheric balloon as high-resolution 4K cameras captured some stunning images. The grand World Cup silverware made its remarkable descent, culminating in a stunning arrival at the Narendra Modi Stadium.  

The nine league matches which India will play will be in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Lucknow, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru. Below is India's tentative schedule for the World Cup 2023.

• India vs Australia - October 8, Chennai
• India vs Afghanistan - Oct 11, Delhi
• India vs Pakistan - Oct 15, Ahmedabad
• India vs Bangladesh - Oct 19, Pune
• India vs New Zealand - Oct 22, Dharamsala
• India vs England - Oct 29, Lucknow
• India vs Qualifier - Nov 2, Mumbai
• India vs South Africa - Nov 5, Kolkata
• India vs Qualifier - Nov 11, Bengaluru

In all likelihood, these will be the dates and fixtures of some of the mega matches

• World Cup opener is expected to be played between defending champions England and five-time winners Australia on October 8
• The blockbuster India vs Pakistan match is scheduled for October 15 in Ahmedabad as per the draft schedule
• Two of the most iconic stadiums - The Eden Gardens in Kolkata as Wankhede Stadium will be the venues for the semifinals. Earlier, Chennai was supposed to host one of the semis, but the idea was scrapped due to November rains.
• Pakistan are likely to stick to their original itinerary of playing Australia and Afghanistan in Bengaluru and Chennai on October 20 and 23 respectively.
• The world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad to stage the final on November 15.

The official reason is not known, but it is believed that the delay in the World Cup schedule announcement is due to Pakistan's last-minute intervention. In the first week of June, reports began floating that schedule will be out on the sidelines of the World Test Championship final but that never happened, did it? Ever since, the ICC and the BCCI have remained mum over the matter before it emerged that the delay was due to Pakistan's request to move two of their league matches from Bengaluru to Chennai. The BCCI and the ICC however have denied their request, after which the fixtures will finally be unwrapped later today. 

Rumour has been floating since last month that the World Cup 2023 in India will begin on October 5. If true, this would means that today's announcement will come exactly a 100 prior to the start of the tournament. Yes, we're all surprised. Usually, the schedule for a World Cup is declared a lot earlier, and the delay this year has only thrown fans, media and the organisers in a quandary. 

The wait will be over in a few hours' time as ICC is set to announce the 2023 ODI World Cup schedule today in an event in Mumbai at 11:30 am IST. The 13th edition of the ODI World Cup will be played in India from October 5 to November 19 with the top 10 teams of the world locking horns to lay their hands on the coveted trophy.