India Is Setting The Stage For The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
2023 is an exciting year for the world of cricket, with the 13th edition of the ICC World Cup being held in October. While there’s a lot to be defined, India, the host nation, is already setting the stage for the competition.
Where will the 2023 World Cup be hosted?
The 2023 edition of the Cricket World Cup will be held in India. While the country has hosted the tournament on three different occasions (1987, 1996, and 2011), 2023 marks the first time that the cup will be held in its entirety in the South Asian nation.
The matches will be played across several stadiums in 13 cities, including the Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, M Chinnaswami in Bangalore, and Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Venues like the Wankhade Stadium have a long trajectory of hosting high-profile tournaments, having held the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final, which saw India defeating Sri Lanka and becoming the first country to win the cup on home soil.
Which are the qualified teams?
In addition to the host nation, the top seven teams of the Cricket League will qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023. The five remaining teams will compete in the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, from which two will go through the tournament’s final.
So far, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, England, and New Zealand have qualified. Currently, India occupies the first spot in the ICC Men’s T01 and ODI rankings and has taken the second spot under Australia in the test table. England, the founding fathers of the sport and defending champions, is another strong team that has earned a spot among the top 5 teams in each ICC ranking.
Teams like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Pakistan also have a good chance of emerging victorious in the competition.
When will the matches kick-off?
While the tournament is scheduled to take place between October 2023 and November 2023, the official dates for each match are yet to be defined. In total 48 matches will be played among the qualified nations.
How fans are preparing
Cricket is one of the most popular sports after football, with an estimated audience of 2.5 billion people worldwide. The men’s 2022 Twenty20 World Cup reportedly generated 6.65 billion views across all ICC platforms, which was a 65% increase from the previous edition. It is expected that the ICC World Cup will draw similar levels of engagement.
Tickets for the matches will likely be available through the tournament’s official app and website. Yet, cricket matches are generally available through the websites BookMyShow and PayTM/insider in India.
In the months leading to the competition, cricket enthusiasts can get their dose of the sport by tuning into various high-profile, international matches. The ICC World Test Championship Final, The Ashes, The Hundred Series, and the Asian Cup will be taking place between June and September 2023. Thanks to technological innovations, fans can also enjoy cricket off-season by partaking in the simulated reality league 2023 and fantasy cricket.
