BCCI, thank you for embarking on fixing stadiums, but the schedule mess is a cruel joke

69 days to go for the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup but we are still not sure of the schedule for the mega event which will be hosted in India from 5 October.

The World Cup schedule, so to stay, was revealed on 27 June, barely three months before the biggest tournament in world cricket after an agonising wait. And now that announcement has been turned into a cruel joke on the fans.

On Thursday, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah announced that further changes will be made to the schedule, barely two months before the World Cup, because a few ICC Full Member nations have objected to it.

The whole schedule mess is in complete contrast to how things were when the World Cup was hosted four years back in England and Wales.

The schedule for the 2019 World Cup was announced on 26 April 2018, a year before the mega event started on 30 May 2019.

Now, let’s make another comparison. The tickets for the 2019 World Cup were confirmed by September 2018, eight months before the showpiece contest.

What about the tickets for the 2023 World Cup?

According to Shah, the ticket sales announcement will be made next week.

If you are a working professional and want to watch a few World Cup games across India, good luck with that. If the schedule is still not out with just over two months to go for the tournament, only God knows how would you be able to take leaves and make travel arrangements.

That travel arrangement part potentially becoming a nightmare is going to be true for all the fans; working or non-working, local or foreign. From the foreign fans’ point of view especially, the painful delay in schedule and ticket sale announcement is an unwelcoming message.

Jay Shah refused to reveal which members have raised objections over the schedule and also shot down the suggestion that changes are being required because the India vs Pakistan game on 15 October in Ahmebdabd clashes with the start of Navratri and security agencies have advised against it.

“Two-three ICC Full Member nations have raised objections regarding the schedule. The teams which have six-day gaps will be reduced and the teams which have two-day gaps will be increased,” Shah said.

“If security was an issue then why would the match go there (to Ahmedabad)? [October] 14-15 is not the problem,” he added.

Any changes to India vs Pakistan match date would make it clear if the 15 October game is a problem or not, but even if it isn’t, the sheer recklessness and poor planning in making the schedule can’t be forgiven.

The schedule is to be changed because gaps between the matches in some cases are too big and in some too small! This looks like a very silly error for the richest cricket board.

Honestly, the only thing that justifies such late changes in a schedule is a security threat. If that is the case, BCCI has all the right to keep it a secret but if the changes are being made only because the gaps between matches were not thought through before then it’s a blunder.

Talking about more blunders.

A report from a news agency PTI states that the BCCI is consulting a leading advisory firm for changes that are needed at the World Cup venues to make it a “pleasant experience” for the fans.

Now look at the irony. At the same time, BCCI has also confirmed that no e-ticketing facility will be available during the World Cup.

“We can’t use e-tickets this time around but will ensure to have physical tickets redemption at 7-8 centres well in advance. But the physical ticket needs to be retained. It will get difficult to manage e-ticket at high-capacity venue like Ahmedabad and Lucknow. Our plan is to start using e-tickets more in bilaterals first and then take it to multi-nation events like the World Cup,” said Shah.

BCCI wants to introduce an e-ticketing facility in bilaterals before using it for bigger tournaments like the World Cup.

Could they have not introduced it during the IPL 2023? What could have been a better opportunity to test the process than the IPL? This would have allowed the board to be ready with a seamless service for the World Cup when it would be welcoming fans from overseas and would have also given some respite to the local fans during the cash-rich league.

I am sure you remember the stampede-like situation that erupted outside the Narendra Modi Stadium before the IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians.

No final schedule, no ticket sales and no seamless entry into the stadiums. Whatever people say, India is the spiritual home of cricket and a World Cup in India is the pinnacle for the sport but the haphazard planning would make you wonder how much the game belongs to the fans.