ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023’s final schedule has been announced, according to which India and Pakistan will have a faceoff on October 15 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Pakistan is scheduled to play nine league stage matches across five venues in India (Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata), starting on October 6 and ending on November 12 with a match against England. However, there are some apprehensions about Pakistan's travel to India.
Pakistan’s sports Minister Ehsaan Mazari has now said that his cricket team won't arrive in India for the ODI World Cup if the Indian cricket team doesn't cross the border for the 2023 Asia Cup, according to The Indian Express. "My personal opinion since the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) comes under my ministry is that if India demands to play their Asia Cup games at a neutral venue, we would also demand the same for our World Cup games in India," he told IE.
Marzi's comments came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made a high-profile committee to decide Pakistan's ODI World Cup participation in India. Mazari said that the committee will be headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He is also among the 11 ministers part of the committee. "We will discuss the issue and give our recommendations to the PM, who is also the patron-in-chief of PCB. The PM will take the final decision."
Mazari said that India's refusal to play cricket in Pakistan puzzles him. "India brings sports into politics. I don't understand why the Indian government doesn’t want to send their cricket team here. Some time back, a huge baseball contingent from India was in Islamabad to play. There was also the bridge team that had travelled to Pakistan. There were around 60-plus people; I was the chief guest of the event. They won here and left. Pakistan’s football, hockey, and chess teams also travel to India," Mazari said.
India had refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, whose official host this time was Pakistan. The event, which will see 13 matches and 6 teams, will be held in August and September. After India refused to travel to India, the Asian Cricket Council adopted a hybrid model, under which 4 matches will be played in Pakistan and the remaining 9 in Sri Lanka. India will play all its games in Sri Lanka.