In the upcoming ODI World Cup, India will kickstart their campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8 with the much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash will be taking place at Ahmedabad a week later, as per the BCCI's draft schedule for the tournament.
"The BCCI shared the draft schedule with the ICC, which then sent it to the participating countries for feedback before a final schedule is put out early next week," ESPNCricinfo reported.
According to the previous draft, the tournament will start on October 5 where England will be taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad. The Indian team who will be hosting the ODI World Cup have already sealed the title back in 2011 under the leadership of MS Dhoni, and will now be playing their league games across nine cities, including, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru. They will be playing against Pakistan on October 15.
"Pakistan are slotted to meet the two teams progressing from the Qualifier on October 6 and 12 in Hyderabad, and then Australia in Bengaluru (October 20), Afghanistan (October 23) and South Africa (October 27) in Chennai, Bangladesh in Kolkata (October 31), New Zealand in Bengaluru (November 5, day match) and England in Kolkata (November 12)," the report added.
There will be a total of 10 teams who will be taking part in the tournament. Out of 10 teams, 8 teams have been finalised already while two teams will qualify via the qualifiers. For the Indian team, the upcoming World Cup will be very crucial as Rohit Sharma's team lost the WTC final in 2023 against Australia. They will be looking to clinch the 50-over world cup title later this year.
India's tentative schedule:
India vs Australia, Oct 8, Chennai India vs Afghanistan, Oct 11, Delhi India vs Pakistan, Oct 15, Ahmedabad India vs Bangladesh, Oct 19, Pune India vs New Zealand, Oct 22, Dharamsala India vs England, Oct 29, Lucknow India vs Qualifier, Nov 2, Mumbai India vs South Africa, Nov 5, Kolkata India vs Qualifier, Nov 11, Bengaluru.