The BCCI has officially announced that Pakistan’s first ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 warm-up match against New Zealand, scheduled for September 29, will be held without spectators.
This decision comes in response to recommendations from local security authorities in Hyderabad, the match’s designated venue, coinciding with ongoing festivals in the area. The simultaneous celebration of these festivals is expected to draw large crowds, necessitating the precautionary measure of playing the match behind closed doors.
For those who have already purchased tickets for this fixture, the official ticketing platform for the tournament will issue full refunds.
This match marks the initial encounter in a pair of warm-up games for Pakistan ahead of the main tournament. Pakistan’s second warm-up match will take place on Tuesday, October 3, against Australia.
On the same day as Pakistan’s match against New Zealand, two other warm-up games are scheduled: Bangladesh will face Sri Lanka in Guwahati, and South Africa will compete against Afghanistan in Thiruvananthapuram. Both of these fixtures are expected to have spectators in attendance.
The warm-up matches for the tournament will conclude on October 3, just before the tournament itself commences with the first match on October 5. Pakistan’s debut match in the tournament will be against the Netherlands on October 6.
The scheduling of the 2023 World Cup has encountered challenges due to festivals that attract large gatherings. Several matches had to be rescheduled after the initial tournament schedule was announced due to security concerns about overlapping with public festivals.
Notably, the highly anticipated India-Pakistan fixture, originally planned for October 15 in Ahmedabad, was moved to October 14 to avoid conflicting with the commencement of Navratri, a nine-day annual festival in Gujarat.
