Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Friday asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to reconsider its decision for not including Mohali in the list of hosting cities for One Day International (ODI) World Cup-2023.
Expressing displeasure and objection over not including Mohali in the list of hosting cities, Meet Hayer has written to BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Jay Shah demanding to hold the ODI World Cup-2023 match at Mohali.
“In terms of sporting infrastructure too, Punjab has rubbed shoulders with the best in the world. The IS Bindra Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium at Mohali has the distinction of playing host to two World Cup semifinal ties, one in 1996 Wills World Cup and the other time in 2011 (apart from two league encounters) besides two matches in the 2016 World T-20,” the minister wrote.
Meet Hayer said in the media statement of the BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla has said that the PCA Stadium Mohali does not meet the criteria of the ICC to hold the match.
“I want to know what is the ICC criteria based on which Mohali was considered ineligible for the match. Apart from this, any change made in the norms at present should also be brought to light as the India-Australia International T20 match was played in September 2022. Besides, ODI World Cup matches including two semi finals were also played at PCA Stadium in the past. It should also be stated whether the ICC team visited the Mohali Stadium to inspect the standards,” he said.
Describing PCA Stadium Mohali as one of the best stadiums in the world, Meet Hayer said the schedule for the upcoming ICC World Cup-2023 to be held in October and November this year is sans any allotment of matches to Punjab which belies completely the sense of fairplay.
“This anomaly needs to be rectified at the earliest and it would be in the interest of justice to allot a few encounters to Punjab and not leave it in the lurch. I have full confidence that justice would be done to Punjab in this matter of utmost urgency,” Meet Hayer wrote.
