When 2019 finalists England and New Zealand meet once more to open the Cricket World Cup subsequent week, it can mark the event’s return to India after 12 years.

But preparations for this yr’s event — by which the house facet will begin among the many favorites and received the occasion when it was final performed in India in 2011 — have not gone easily.

The occasion skilled quite a few organizational and planning points which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the host physique, usually had difficulties coping with them.

The thirteenth version of the event was first scheduled for February-March 2023, nevertheless it was delayed to its present Oct. 5-Nov. 19 schedule after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a ripple impact for the internet hosting of 2021 and 2022 Twenty20 World Cups.

In the meantime, the BCCI delayed formalizing tax agreements with the Indian authorities — a problem that had plagued the 2011 ODI and the 2016 T20 World Cups, each hosted in India.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) often receives a tax exemption profit for its occasions, however that’s in contravention of Indian legal guidelines. In March, the BCCI informed he ICC that it will cowl about $116 million in taxes out of its personal pocket in lieu of the tax exemption from the Indian authorities.

India’s Ruturaj Gaikwad performs a shot in the course of the first in the future worldwide match between Australia and India in Mohali, India, Sept. 22, 2023.

It was, nonetheless, solely the primary of a number of obstacles.

Most ICC occasion schedules are introduced a yr prematurely. The BCCI solely introduced the World Cup scheduling on June 27. A month later, the unique scheduling bumped into issues when Ahmedabad police mentioned they was unable to offer ample safety for the high-profile India-Pakistan match on Oct. 15 due to already-planned festivities within the western India metropolis.

The BCCI needed to rework the schedule and a closing model was launched on Aug. 9 with the large India-Pakistan match now scheduled a day earlier on Oct. 14.

That triggered additional points for ticketing and journey preparations for followers internationally. Even earlier than the ultimate scheduling had been introduced, lodge costs and airfares in main host cities shot as much as exorbitant charges.

Ticketing has been one other main challenge within the build-up to this World Cup. After the scheduling was lastly introduced, tickets first went on sale as late as Aug. 30. Despite the staggered sale of tickets, Indian followers complained, and the BCCI launched one other 400,000 tickets to most of the people on Sept. 6 within the second part of ticketing.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah defended his group’s actions over the previous few months.

“The scale and diversity of India require meticulous planning, coordination, and execution to ensure the tournament’s success and seamless experience for players, fans, and stakeholders,” Shah mentioned in an announcement.

With lower than per week to go earlier than the opening match, the tempo has step by step constructed up as fervent cricket loyalists in India — and there are tens of millions— get able to welcome the ten groups.

All eyes will likely be on Rohit Sharma’s India as they appear to emulate M.S. Dhoni’s workforce’s feat of profitable the World Cup at dwelling. India hasn’t received an ICC occasion for the reason that 2013 Champions Trophy, and the 2011 triumph stays its final World Cup trophy.

Defending champion England and file five-time winners Australia, who play India in its first match on Oct. 8 in Chennai, are the opposite prime contenders for the title.

Regional foe Pakistan’s problem depends upon the shape and health of two gamers — skipper Babar Azam and pacer Shaheen Afridi. Pacer Naseem Shah has been dominated out of the World Cup attributable to a proper shoulder harm.

Sri Lanka punched above its weight to succeed in the Asia Cup closing. New Zealand — which misplaced to England in a controversial boundary countback within the 2019 closing — South Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands full the 10-team lineup which will likely be expanded to 14 groups for the subsequent Cricket World Cup in October-November 2027 co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The round-robin format sees all 10 groups play one another as soon as in a single group (45 matches). The prime 4 groups advance to the semifinals on Nov. 16 and 17. The closing is scheduled for Nov. 19.

In between, Sharma will strive to not let the home-crowd hype get to him, though that could be simpler mentioned than finished.

“For me, it is important how to keep relaxed and not worry about external factors that play a role, whether positively or negatively,” Sharma mentioned. “It is about shutting out everything.”