Meanwhile, New Zealand, under the leadership of Tom Latham in the absence of Kane Williamson, opted to field first after winning the toss, setting the stage for a captivating encounter.

Hidden behind the battle of the 10 competing teams in this year’s cricket World Cup, there is another competition brewing among the pitch curators of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). BCCI’s chief curator Ashish Bhowmick proudly revealed, “We have a competition among ourselves about which venue can produce the best matches.”

Ashish, who has been the BCCI’s chief curator since 2019, is leading a team of fifteen curators working diligently to prepare the ten venues for the upcoming World Cup. Their primary goal is to prepare pitches that facilitate high-scoring matches, also known as run-fests.

While Ashish remains tight-lipped about specific details due to ICC’s code of conduct and BCCI’s restrictions, it is evident that the World Cup in India, to be held in October-November, will witness high-scoring encounters. He mentioned that during the last IPL (Indian Premier League) season, teams scored 200 runs or more in a match 37 times, showcasing the Indian curators’ level of expertise.

When asked about the preparations for the World Cup, Ashish stated, “It won’t be right to say something like that about the wickets in the World Cup. But if you’ve seen the pitches in the recent international matches in India, the wickets in the World Cup will be similar. More than 300 runs should be scored in both innings of the match. The wickets will be like that in all 10 venues in the World Cup.”

The recent IPL season serves as a hint for the expected behavior of the wickets in the World Cup. Ashish mentioned that the last edition was the best among all 15 seasons of the IPL in terms of the number of runs scored, with teams frequently reaching 200 or more runs in a match.

BCCI has emphasized preparing batting-friendly pitches for the World Cup, and the ICC has a preference for such wickets in white-ball cricket. This aligns with Bangladesh’s preparation for the tournament as well, where they played on batting-friendly pitches even at home during series against Ireland and Afghanistan.

Ashish believes that the Assam Cricket Association’s Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium, where Bangladesh will play two practice matches before the World Cup, offers the best possible preparation for the Bangladesh team in a World Cup expected to be a run-fest.

While the wickets may favor the batters, Ashish clarifies that there will still be something for the pacers, making the bowling attack a critical factor in the matches. Spinners might face some challenges, but they won’t be the deciding factor on these pitches.

With Ashish and his team working hard to prepare good wickets for the World Cup, it is clear that high-scoring and exciting matches are on the horizon.

The ODI World Cup will start in India next October. But from the looks of the situation, it seems that until the World Cup is built on the field, the terms and negotiations between India and Pakistan cricket related parties will continue. Uncertainty about the venue has not ended. Pakistan has given a condition that if India does not go to their country to play the Asia Cup, they won’t go to India to play the World Cup.

India had refused to participate in the Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan in September. They are not willing to go to Pakistan because of diplomatic animosity. Instead, India opted for a hybrid model of hosting matches at neutral venues but Pakistan is not a vessel to give up. They also informed that if India does not come, they will not go to play the World Cup in that country. They also want to play at neutral venues.

Meanwhile, the news of the Indian news agency PTI said that Pakistan has given new conditions to play the World Cup in India. Although not a neutral venue, they have specified the venue. The two venues proposed by Babar Azam are Kolkata and Chennai. Earlier in 2016 T20 World Cup, both the teams met in Kolkata. Apart from this, they have played many tournaments in Kolkata. That’s why they want to play in Kolkata. Kolkata and Chennai – the security of these two cities is very good. So both cities are Pakistan’s first choice.
However, the ICC wants to host their matches in Ahmedabad as the game between the two arch-rivals has the highest public interest. The organization wants to make more profit from this match in that field with a capacity of more than 100,000. They have already chosen Narendra Modi Stadium for the final.

Meanwhile, reports in the Indian media suggest that the selected stadium is likely to get the responsibility of hosting the high-profile IND-PAK match in the ODI World Cup to be held in October-November. It is reported that the Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) is going to decide to host the match in Ahmedabad. The World Cup schedule and venue may be announced after the ongoing IPL.

However, there was no statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board on this matter. It is heard that the World Cup may continue from October 5 to November 19. The World Cup games will be held in 12 cities in India. This competition will continue for 46 consecutive days. A total of 48 games will be played in the 10-team competition, including three knockout stage matches. The World Cup matches will be held in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamshala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot and Mumbai.

And just a few months later, the Cricket World Cup is being held. India is preparing ahead of this fair. In the meantime, the dates of the start and end of the 13th season have been announced. Even in which stadium the final match will be held, is also known. According to ESPN Cricinfo, the global tournament will start on October 5. And the final match will be on November 19. 12 stadiums have been shortlisted for this event. The final match will be held at the world’s largest Narendra Modi Stadium. 1 lakh 32 thousand spectators can sit and watch the game together in this modern stadium.

In all, ten teams will play a total of 48 matches in this 46-day event. Stadiums in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamshala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot, and Mumbai have been prepared for this. Besides, some more venues are being prepared for the official warm-up.ICC usually announces the venue and fixtures a year before the start of the World Cup. But this time there are some complications. BCCI has not yet received the green signal from the Indian government. There are tax complications. Meanwhile, discussions are going on about the visa complications of the Pakistan team in the tour of India. The country’s cricket board is not negotiating with the government regarding the participation of the Pakistan team in the mega event. These were raised in the ICC meeting; The Asia Cup venue was also discussed. However, no party has yet said anything about the final decision.