India-Pakistan game among nine Cricket World Cup matches to be rescheduled

DELHI (AP): The meeting between archrivals India and Pakistan at this year’s Cricket World Cup was among nine matches to be rescheduled on Wednesday, less than two months before the start of the tournament.

The India-Pakistan game will now take place in Ahmedabad on Oct. 14, a day earlier than originally scheduled. The original date had been heavily criticized as it would have clashed with the start of Navratri festivities in the city and strain police resources in Ahmedabad. The Navratri week, starting Oct. 15, is celebrated with pomp and splendor across India and leads up to the festival of Diwali every year.

Further changes to the schedule were necessary as Pakistan was set to play Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on Oct. 12, leaving only a two-day gap to the rescheduled India game. That match was moved to Oct. 10. Two other games originally scheduled for Oct. 14 were also moved to make sure the highly anticipated India-Pakistan game is a standalone event.

New Zealand vs. Bangladesh in Chennai will be played on Oct. 13 as a day-night game, while England vs. Afghanistan in Delhi has been moved forward to Oct. 15. As a result, Australia-South Africa in Lucknow on Oct. 13 has also been moved forward one day. Meanwhile, England vs. Bangladesh in Dharamsala on Oct. 10 is now a day game instead of a day-night affair to accommodate Pakistan’s game against Sri Lanka. Security concerns in Kolkata in connection to the Diwali festivities in November also led to some scheduling changes.

The double-header with Australia vs. Bangladesh in Pune and England vs. Pakistan in Kolkata has been moved to Nov. 11, one day earlier than planned. In turn, India’s game against the Netherlands in Bangalore was moved down one day to Nov. 12. The World Cup will kick off in Ahmedabad on Oct. 5, with the opening game between 2019 World Cup finalists England and New Zealand. Tickets for the event will go on sale on Aug. 25.