The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final will take place at the world’s largest cricket stadium, Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, on November 19. The tournament will begin on October 5, with 12 cities across India shortlisted to host the marquee event. The 10-team competition will be played across 46 days with a total of 48 matches in the same format as the 2019 edition.
A report by EspnCricinfo states that Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot, and Mumbai are the cities in contention to host the matches. There is still to be an official confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the venue details, with a confirmation yet to come due to the challenge of the monsoon season in the country.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has yet to announce the schedule of the event, despite normally doing it a year in advance. The same report states that the delay has been caused by the ICC waiting for the BCCI to ensure a tax exemption and visa clearance for the Pakistan cricket team for the event.
The 2023 edition will be the fourth time that the tournament is taking place in India, but the first edition that is being entirely hosted in India. In 1987, India co-hosted the tournament with Pakistan, while Sri Lanka and Pakistan were hosts of the 1996 edition alongside India. In 2011, India shared the hosting rights with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India is scheduled to host the tournament in 2031 too, but that will be jointly hosted with Bangladesh.
The Narendra Modi Stadium, which is said to have a capacity of 130,000 people, will become the third venue in India to host a Cricket World Cup final after Kolkata’s Eden Gardens (1987) and Mumbai’s Wankede Stadium (2011). India had become the first home team to win a World Cup final when they lifted the trophy in 2011 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy after beating Sri Lanka in the final.
India did not host the final in 1996, as the summit clash between Australia and Sri Lanka took place at Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium.
England are the defending champions, having lifted the trophy on home soil in 2019 after beating New Zealand in a memorable final at Lord’s after a super over.
