ODI World Cup 2023

'Warm-ups ho to rhe hai sir' - Fans react as Shashi Tharoor expresses disappointment with Thiruvananthapuram's omission from ODI Word Cup fixture list 

Shashi Tharoor expressed his disappointment with Thiruvananthapuram's omission from the 2023 ODI Word Cup fixture list.

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Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor (Source: Twitter)

Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (Source: Twitter)

The 2023 ODI World Cup is set to begin on October 5, with England taking on New Zealand at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. The Cricket Governing Body on Tuesday released the list of venues to host the 50-over tournament and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed disappointment that Thiruvananthapuram's SportsHub did not make the cut.

The marquee event, which will take place for over 46 days, will be held in ten cities: Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata. While Mohali, Indore, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Nagpur did not receive hosting rights,  Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad will host warm-up matches from September 29 to October 3.

Ahmedabad is becoming the new cricket capital of the country: Shashi Tharoor

Tharoor remarked on Twitter that Ahmedabad, which is hosting the final and the blockbuster India vs Pakistan match, is becoming India's new cricket capital along with Thiruvananthapuram, the 67-year-old expressed concern over Mohali and Ranchi not getting a match in the 2023 World Cup.

"Disappointed to see that Thiruvananthapuram's #SportsHub, hailed by many as the best cricket stadium in India, is missing from the #WorldCup2023 fixture list. Ahmedabad is becoming the new cricket capital of the country, but could a match or two not have been allotted to Kerala?" Tharoor tweeted.

“It's a long tournament. They could have spread the joy a little better. Thiruvananthapuram, Mohali and Ranchi should have been given an opportunity to hold a World Cup match. It is not necessary for any one venue to get 4-5 matches. This is a big mistake on the part of BCCI,” he said.

Meanwhile, an Indian Cricket Board source said that they can't just focus on the south region because Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai have been chosen as venues. "There are matches in the south like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai - total have to be 10 venues so can't concentrate everything in south," a BCCI source said.

Earlier, Punjab sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that it was disappointing that Mohali, being one of India’s top five venues, could not host even a warm-up match, claiming that there was clear “politics being played”.

Here's how fans reacted to Sashi Tharoor's statement: 

 

India World CUP 2023