Guwahati has been overlooked as a possible venue for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Men's One Day International (ODI) World Cup 2023 with the apex governing body for cricket announcing the schedule for the tournament to be held in India on Tuesday.
Earlier, Guwahati's Barsapara stadium had been touted as a possible venue for hosting at least one World Cup match with India hosting the 2023 edition of the tournament.
Reports emerged in March that the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati had been shortlisted as a venue for the Cricket World Cup scheduled to begin on October 5.
However, cricket fans from Assam will be left fuming as the ICC has decided to overlook Guwahati as a venue.
Meanwhile, England will take on New Zealand in the curtain raiser on October 5 in Ahmedabad, while India's first match will be against Australia and will take place on October 8 in Chennai.
The tournament will feature matches across 46 days and will be hosted in 10 cities throughout India. The cities include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune and Mumbai.
Having a capacity of 1,30,000 people, the Narendra Modi Stadium will become the third venue in India to host a Cricket World Cup final, following Kolkata’s Eden Gardens in 1987 and Mumbai’s Wankede Stadium in 2011.
The ICC usually announces the schedule a year in advance, but there was a delay this time around due to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ensuring a tax exemption and visa clearance for the Pakistan cricket team.
Meanwhile, the Barsapara stadium in Guwahati, that was built in 2017, has a capacity of 25,000 spectators and is the home ground for the Assam cricket team and the Northeast Frontier Railway cricket team.
The stadium has been approved to host international cricket matches by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Ahead of the India vs Sri Lanka ODI match on January 10 this year, Assam Cricket Association (ACA) President Taranga Gogoi had said that he was hopeful that the match was BCCI testing the ACA's ability to successfully conduct an ODI match, with India all set to host the 2023 ODI Cricket World Cup in the final quarter of the year.
Taranga Gogoi had said, "ACA has taken all possible steps to ensure the smooth conduction of the game. Most people have this question regarding the use of our Guwahati stadium for hosting World Cup matches for the 2023 ODI World Cup. On that regard, I would like to mention that ACA has done and will continue to do everything to ensure that BCCI looks towards Guwahati as a possible destination."
"I believe by handing us the opportunity to host this ODI match between India and Sri Lanka, BCCI is trying out our capability in hosting an ODI match. We are looking forward to hosting this match successfully and ask for the help of all citizens in ensuring that everything goes well," he added.
