England set to play against New Zealand for 2023 World Cup opener in Ahmedabad

According to reports, the curtain raiser of this year’s ICC mega event will feature a match between defending champions England and the losing finalists of the 2019 World Cup. The two teams will collide in World Cup opener on October 5 in Ahmedabad.

As per a report by Cricbuzz, hosts India are going to take on Australia in their campaign opener in Chennai. Meanwhile, the source also confirmed that India’s arch-rivals Pakistan have agreed to travel to the host nation for the global tournament, despite their ongoing disagreement over the plans for the Asia Cup later this year.

The World Cup opener and final are scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad, Pakistan are not inclined at playing their games at the Narendra Modi Stadium, requesting a change of venues for their group fixtures. However, they have agreed to play the final in Ahmedabad, if their team qualifies for the summit clash. According to a tentative schedule, the Men Green are likely to play their games in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Mohali and Nagpur are missing from the tentative list of World Cup venues

A total of 12 cities are set to host the matches of the quadrennial event. Kolkata, Delhi, Indore, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Rajkot, Raipur and Mumbai being the other destinations along with the aforementioned venues. Mohali and Nagpur are the two glaring omissions from the list of venues. Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium is likely to host one of the semifinals.

BCCI is expected to make an official announcement after the conclusion of the ongoing IPL. The apex cricket body is expected to have the final say in the scheduling of the fixtures and the venues. A total of ten teams will participate in the tournament with South Africa being the latest team to secure qualification.