It's an exciting year for the country as India will be be holding ICC Men Cricket World Cup 2023.

As per reports, if everything goes as per schedule, the 50-over World Cup will kick off from October 5, with Nagpur, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Rajkot, Indore, Bengaluru and  Dharamshala being short-listed as venues, even for practice fixtures.

Of these venues, however, only seven will host India’s league matches. Ahmedabad could be the only venue where India play two matches, provided the team makes it to the final.

The most awaited match of the season, the India-Pakistan match of the World Cup is being decided to be played at the Narendra Modi stadium at Ahmedabad, scheduled for October-November, the first match between the two arch-rivals on Indian soil since 2016.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to host the high-voltage match at the Ahmedabad stadium in anticipation of a large number of fans who are expected to travel to India from abroad for the fixture, it is learnt. With a seating capacity of 1 lakh, the Narendra Modi Stadium is the country’s largest.

Once Indian Premier League gets over, the BCCI will be announcing the World Cup schedule at a grand launch.

It is learnt that Pakistan could end up playing most of their matches in Chennai and Bengaluru due to security reasons. Kolkata’s Eden Gardens is also being considered as a venue. Similarly, Bangladesh could also play most of their matches in Kolkata and Guwahati as it would reduce the travel distance for fans from the neighbouring country.

The BCCI is planning to wrap up the matches in the country’s southern parts before the first week of November, as it monsoon season there during those months.

The Indian team, sources said, requested the BCCI to allot fixtures against Australia, England, New Zealannd and South Africa to venues that aid spinners. It told the board that it prefers slow pitches as it wants to maximise the so-called home advantage, a trend it has been following over the past few years.

The BCCI will be taking call on the allotment of venues.