ICC Still Confused Over India vs Pakistan Venue for T20 World Cup 2024
Virat Kohli and Mohd Rizwan (Source: AP Newsroom)
With Asia Cup 2023 already turning out to be a mess considering complicated fixtures, unplanned reserve days and choice of venues, get ready for some more drama as the International Cricket Council (ICC) is still pondering over the choice of venue at the following year's India vs Pakistan clash at the T20 World Cup 2024 which is bound to happen in the Caribbean and USA as just nine months remain for the first ball to be bowled.
The governing body plans to host 17 matches in the USA while the remaining matches are kept for the West Indies. The major problem is that the marquee Indo-Pak clash is set for New York, a place that doesn't even have a proper cricket stadium, so a makeshift venue is considered.
The actual roadmap starts with construction that begins in January next year, which would be completed within a few months while bearing a seating capacity of 34,000 and later, the stadium would be taken down.
USA has developed some significant infrastructures recently, with Lauderhill, Florida, already holding Indian team's matches while Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas in Texas, alongside Church Street Park in Morrisville, recently hosted the inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC).
However, ICC wanted a stadium with massive capacity for the clash and also, at a place in the US where the South Asian Diaspora is in numbers and hence, New York's Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx stood out.
But now, the situation has turned out to be quite tense and problematic as local authorities seem to refrain from favouring the particular decision, an ICC official confirmed.
“The Van Cortlandt Park plan is running into a lot of troubles, and it wouldn’t make any sense to risk that big a match at a makeshift venue. A venue team is already inspecting more open fields in the area, but nothing is certain yet as far as the venue in New York is concerned."
The report in the reputed Guardian gave the view that it seems highly improbable that the venue would get a green signal.
The Guardian’s report – ‘They’re big, bad bullies’: New York’s bitter fight over a 34,000-seat cricket stadium – on September 1 highlighted the various challenges in store for the ICC and why the modular venue plan in Van Cortlandt Park is “unrealistic and unprecedented”.
Adding to this, a query from News18 CricketNext resulted in ICC responding but in an unexplanatory manner.
“We’ll be announcing the West Indies and USA venues in the next month or so."
This isn't something new in regard to cricket, as delayed decisions and controversies have always been a constant feature. Now, the fans and all the stakeholders involved would be hoping that a resolution is found soon.
.jpg?im=Resize=(250, 250) "Arnav Chopra")
