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‘Why skip Mohali in World Cup’: Tharoor, TMC leader question favour to Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad becoming the cricket capital of India, but no World Cup match to Kerala, asked Shashi Tharoor. “Why skip Mohali,” asked Punjab MP Manish Tewari.
A day after the 2023 Men's ODI Cricket World Cup schedule was announced, a political controversy started brewing with the opposition leaders raising questions over the priority given to Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Both the opening match and the final will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor questioned the priority being given to Ahmedabad while Punjab MP Manish Tewari asked why Mohali where the India-Pakistan semi-final was held in 2011 has been skipped altogether.
Trinamool spokesperson Saket Gokhale said the credit goes to BCCI secretary Jay Shah for ensuring that Gujarat gets priority over other states always.
"Disappointed to see that Thiruvananthapuram's #SportsHub, hailed by many as the best cricket stadium in India, is missing from the #WorldCup2023 fixture list. Ahmedabad is becoming the new cricket capital of the country, but could a match or two not have been allotted to Kerala?" Tharoor tweeted.
“It's a long tournament. They could have spread the joy a little better. Thiruvananthapuram, Mohali and Ranchi should have been given an opportunity to hold a World Cup match. It is not necessary for any one venue to get 4-5 matches. This is a big mistake on the part of BCCI,” Tharoor said.
Punjab sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said Mohali's exclusion was due to political interference and the Punjab government will raise the issue with the BCCI.
Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium was renamed Narendra Modi Stadium in 2021.
BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla said many new venues have been added this time like Lucknow and Guwahati and many venues from the south. "For the first time, 12 venues have been chosen for World Cup. Earlier, these many venues were not chosen in previous World Cups. Out of these 12 venues, warm-up matches will be held in Trivandrum and Guwahati, remaining venues will have league matches. More centres have been accommodated. From South Zone four venues, from central zone one venue, West Zone two, North Zone two venues. Delhi and Dharamshala will host the matches (In North Zone)," Rajeev Shukla said.
