Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium and the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, both iconic venues, are the top contenders to host the semifinals of the 2023 World Cup.
This means the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, another venue with a rich legacy, may lose the chance to organize one of the most important games of the ODI showpiece.
“Mumbai’s Wankhede and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens are the likely venues for the World Cup semifinals. Earlier, Chennai was also in the race but it seems Eden is slightly ahead now,” said a BCCI source.
One of the possible reasons for this is the November weather in Chennai, where there is always a chance of rain.
A meeting was held in Mumbai on Monday to discuss and finalize the venues before the official announcement on Tuesday.
If India qualifies for the semifinals, they will play their game in Mumbai.
The Wankhede Stadium hosted the 2011 World Cup final, where India, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, defeated Sri Lanka to end a 28-year title drought. The Eden Gardens was the venue for the 1987 edition final between Australia and England, which Australia won.
This year’s World Cup will feature 10 teams, including India as the host. The other teams, Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa, have qualified through the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. Two more teams will make it to the World Cup through the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
In the World Cup, the 10 teams will play each other once in a round-robin league with 45 matches. This will be followed by the semifinals and the final.