World Cup 2023: BCCI receives security warning for Pakistan vs England game in Kolkata: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in deep waters regarding its planning for the impending ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in India later this year. The cricket board has received security threats from a couple of venues and demands for change in the fixture dates have appeared.
While earlier, there were security concerns regarding the IND vs PAK game at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, now Pakistan vs England game has also come under scrutiny.
As per the report published in PTI, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has asked the ICC recce team to change the venue for the Pakistan vs England game, which is originally scheduled to be held in Eden Gardens on November 12.
The report further stated that the PAK vs ENG game coincides with the Kali Puja, which is the second biggest festival in West Bengal. The security forces of the state will be deployed in large numbers to maintain law and order throughout the region and a separate lot won’t be possible for the Eden Garden’s security.
Interestingly, CAB president Snehasish Ganguly, brother of former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, rubbished all the reports and said that the cricket board hasn’t urged ICC for change in the fixture, however, senior members have opened up that the Kolkata Police has raised a security concern for the scheduled game.
“Kolkata Police has cited concerns to provide security for the match slated on Diwali. We have informed the ICC and BCCI to reschedule it and if it does not happen we would inform the chief minister,” a senior CAB office-bearer, who was part of the meeting with the 17-member ICC and BCCI inspection team, said.
Meanwhile, an ESPNcricinfo report claims that the CAB has already informed BCCI and ICC to prepone the Pakistan vs England game to November 11.
If all these reports come out to be true, it will be a logistical nightmare for the BCCI. It would put the richest cricket board in a bad light for its poor planning of such an important event.
It remains to be seen what the BCCI does to solve these security issues. A couple of days ago, BCCI secretary Jay Shah informed that the revised schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023 will be revealed soon.
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For more details head to ICC’s official website.
