In another setback for the BCCI, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has written to the board requesting a tweak in the schedule as it cannot host matches on back-to-back days. According to the latest schedule, the Raji Gandhi Stadium will host the New Zealand-Netherlands match on October 9, and the Pakistan-Sri Lanka clash the following day. The latter fixture was originally scheduled to be played on October 12 but was brought forward to give Pakistan enough time for their crucial match against India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
It is believed that the Hyderabad police raised concerns over the fixtures from a security point of view, especially for the Pakistan game, as more than 3,000 police personnel will be deployed for each game. The police have informed the HCA that they will not be able to security for the Pakistan game if the other match - New Zealand vs Netherlands - is played according to the mentioned date.
According to the Indian Express, the HCA were taken aback by the schedule as no one from the BCCI got in touch with them to discuss logistics.
The original World Cup fixtures were announced with about 100 days to go for the World Cup, contrary to the previous edition, where the schedule was made public a year before the mega event. However, nine games were rescheduled - one being the India-Pakistan clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, which was brought forward by a day due to the Navratri festival.
Also, the Pakistan-England match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, will now be played on November 11 instead of November 12 due to Kali Puja in Bengal.
These two modifications paved the way for several other matches to be moved. As things stand, we could potentially see another change in the schedule, with less than 50 days to go for the tournament.