Mohali, which had famously hosted the India versus Pakistan semi-final in the ICC World Cup in 2011, may not host a match in this year’s edition of the marquee event.
Fears of Mohali being left out as a venue for the ODI World Cup, which is slated to be played in India from October 5 to November 19, have surfaced after the city did not figure in the list of probable venues doing the rounds in media circles, according to a report in The Hindustan Times on Friday.
The tournament will comprise 48 matches and will reportedly be played in 12 cities across the country, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot and Mumbai. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, has yet to connect the venues with specific matches. Ahmedabad, however, has been selected to host the final.
“Nothing has been communicated to us officially from the BCCI, so I won’t be able to comment on the same,” Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) secretary Dilsher Khanna said.
The PCA, according to the report, has fast-forwarded the construction work at its new Mullanpur Stadium in Mohali to get it ready for the ICC World Cup. The PCA Stadium had hosted four ICC World Cup matches and three ICC World T20 matches so far.
This development brings back memories of the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which hosted the final of the 1987 edition of the ODI World Cup, missing the high-voltage India versus England match as renovation work at the stadium could not be completed on time.
The match on February 27, 2011, was shifted out to Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium and produced an absolute humdinger of a contest as the fans in Kolkata were left to rue what could have been. Over 600 runs were scored in the match that saw hundreds by Sachin Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss, and there was nothing to separate the two teams as the match ended in a tie.
