Pakistan Cricket Team Wants To Play Most Of Its World Cup Matches In Two Indian Cities Where It Felt 'Safe' Earlier: Report

The Pakistan cricket team is reportedly seeking to play the majority of their 2023 ODI World Cup matches in Chennai and Kolkata, the two venues where the team felt secure during its earlier tours.

The World Cup tournament is tentatively set to begin on 5 October and will have 46 matches, including the final, scheduled to take place across 12 Indian cities, including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Rajkot, Bengaluru, Delhi, Indore, Mohali, Guwahati, and Hyderabad.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly engaged in discussions with a high-level ICC executive over the issue.

Pakistan's choice of venues for its World Cup matches will largely hinge on the decisions made by the BCCI and India's government.

"But given a choice, Pakistan will like to play most of its World Cup matches in Kolkata and Chennai," a source close to ICC Board was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

According to the source, the players were satisfied with the level of security provided in Kolkata during their 2016 T20 World Cup game against India. Similarly, Chennai "remains memorable" as a venue for the team.

"It's also about feeling safe at specific venues," the source said.

India-Pakistan game in the upcoming World Cup tournament will be the point of contention.

Ahmedabad offers the best profit potential for ICC with a capacity of 132,000, but the final is already set to be held at Narendra Modi Stadium, so a different location may be chosen.

Nine league stage games will be played by each team in a round-robin format.

The ICC's Events committee, together with BCCI, will finalise the itinerary in the next few months so that fans across India and other regions can plan their travel accordingly.