World Cup 2019 schedule changed; India vs Pakistan on June 16

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Published on: 24 April 2018 2:00 PM GMT
World Cup 2019 schedule changed; India vs Pakistan on June 16
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Mumbai: Owing to the Lodha Committee recommendation, India will embark on its 2019 World Cup 2019 journey on June 4 instead of June 2 with a match against South Africa.

As per the Lodha Committee recommendation, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) needs to maintain a mandatory 15-day gap between Indian Premier League (IPL) final and International Cricket Council (ICC) assignment.

It may be mentioned that 2019 World Cup is scheduled to be held in United Kingdom from May 30 to July 14. The decision to change the schedule was made at a meeting of ICC Chief Executives Meeting in Kolkata on Tuesday.

"The 2019 IPL will be played between March 29 and May 19. But we need to maintain a 15-day gap and World Cup starts on May 30. Therefore as per 15 day gap we could have only played on June 4. Earlier, we were scheduled to start on June 2 but we couldn't have played on that day," a senior BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.

"South Africa are our first opponents. The CEC agreed and the matter has been referred to the ICC board," he further added.

It is worth mentioning that 2019 World Cup final will be played at the Lord's Cricket ground.

Unlike the previous ICC marquee events like the 2015 World Cup in Australia (at Adelaide) and 2017 Champions Trophy in UK (in Birmingham), this time the tournament will not begin with an India-Pakistan match.

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"This is the first time Indo-Pak match won't be a starting affair. Since the format will be a round robin affair (all teams playing each other like 1992)," the official added. India will meet Pakistan on June 16 in Manchester.

In the much-awaited tournament, all teams will be in the only group till the group stage and will play each other. This style means a total of 45 matches will be played with every team playing 9 matches. The top four teams of the group will then progress to the knockout stage. A similar format was used in the 1992 World Cup which was won by Pakistan.

The knockout stage will see two semifinals with the winners of both matches progressing to the final to be played at the Lord's Cricket Ground.

The final fixture of the tournament is expected to be announced after the completion of ICC meeting in Kolkata.

Apart from the final at Lord's, the semifinal is expected to be held at Old Trafford and Edgbaston Cricket Ground. The tournament opener is likely to be played at The Oval.

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