Wankhede Stadium, Eden Gardens Likely To Host World Cup Semifinals: Report

The report suggests that India will play their last-four stage game in Mumbai if they qualify for the semifinals.

MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai could lose out on organising one of the biggest games of the ODI showpiece.

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ODI World Cup 2023 Venues & Schedule: The 2023 edition of ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 is set to be played on Indian soil. As per a report in PTI, ODI World Cup 2023 will be played across 12 grounds in India. While the final match of this tournament will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, semi-finals will be played at Eden Garden Kolkata and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This means the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai could lose out on organising one of the biggest games of the ODI showpiece.

Apart from Ahmedabad, ODI World Cup 2023 will be held in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Dharamshala, Lucknow, Pune, Trivandrum and Guwahati. 

"Mumbai's Wankhede and Kolkata's Eden Gardens are two likely venues for the World Cup semi finals. Earlier, Chennai was also in the race but it seems Eden is slightly ahead now," a BCCI source told PTI on Monday.

"One of the reasons could be the November weather in Chennai where there is always chance of rain." Twelve hosting associations were called in Mumbai on Monday to discuss the details and finalise the venues before Tuesday's official announcement.

The report also suggests that India will play their last-four stage game in Mumbai if they qualify for the semifinals. Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium is the venue where Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India defeated Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 World Cup, ending a 28-year-old title drought. Kolkata's Eden Gardens played host to the summit showdown between Australia and England in the 1987 edition, in which the former country prevailed.

There will be 10 teams at this year's World Cup. As hosts, India have qualified directly, as have Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa through the 2020-2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League.

Two other teams will make it to the World Cup through the World Cup Qualifiers, which is being currently played in Zimbabwe.

Apart from former champions Sri Lanka and the West Indies, the Qualifiers also feature Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, the UAE, the USA, and hosts Zimbabwe.

At the World Cup in India, the 10 teams will play each other once in a round-robin league featuring 45 matches. These will be followed by the semi-finals and the final. 

(With PTI Inputs)