The official announcement of the 2023 Cricket World Cup schedule is still pending as the International Cricket Council (ICC) awaits confirmation from Pakistan regarding their participation in the tournament, which is set to be held in India. Amid this, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made a bizarre request to the ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to change the venues for two of their World Cup matches. Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently expressed his opinion on Pakistan’s request and shared his thoughts.
As per the initial schedule shared with all participating nations, Pakistan is slated to play against Australia at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 20, followed by a match against Afghanistan three days later at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. However, the PCB has requested a swap of venues for these two matches. Although the board has not provided a specific reason for the request, reports suggest Pakistan wants to go into each game as a favorite.
Regarding this peculiar request, Ashwin believed that the ICC is unlikely to consider the request based on the reasoning provided. He pointed out that the venues could have been swapped if Pakistan had cited security concerns, as during the 2016 T20 World Cup when the India-Pakistan match scheduled in Dharamsala was shifted to Kolkata.
Ashwin stated on his YouTube channel, “Pakistan, in their request letter itself, have mentioned that conditions will favor Afghanistan in Chennai. So, by changing venues, it plays into an advantage for Pakistan. So, I highly doubt that ICC will heed this request. If Pakistan had given some valid security reasons, it might have been considered. Another important thing. Pakistan’s interesting request to switch venues. The fixture now is Pakistan playing Australia in Bangalore and Afghanistan in Chennai. They want the venues interchanged.”
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The cricketer emphasized that ICC is more likely to consider venue changes only if valid security reasons are provided. He highlighted the 2016 T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan, initially scheduled in Dharamsala but shifted to Kolkata due to security concerns.
