The biggest sports festival of 2023 is here, and are we excited? Of course! Finally, after a long wait of 4 years, the 50 overs ODI is back, unsettling us to know who’s next to lift the trophy. This game is magic, and what’s more magical is the celebrations and enthusiasm surrounding it. The ICC World Cup in 2023 sets off on 5th October at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, with the same match that was played in the last finals of the World Cup of 2019 between New Zealand and England facing each other. Here’s all you need to know about this year’s biggest sports event.
About the event and format
This year, it was not the same ODI rankings that would decide the qualifying teams of the World Cup match. To get to the conclusion on which top 10 teams will be allowed to compete, the Cricket World Cup Super League was played, and the top 10 teams with the highest scores made it to the World Cup. These are:
- India (host)
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- England
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- South Africa
- Netherlands
- Sri Lanka
While everyone is rooting for their country, a star team and champions of the format West Indies is still being missed.
Format of the matches
The ICC World Cup 2023 starts on 5th October and will go all the way till 19th November for the finale match that would give us our new World Champions. The 10 teams will get to compete against each other, which means every team plays 9 matches against the other qualifiers, playing 49 matches in total. The teams with the highest match wins qualify for the semi-finals. For a team to qualify for the semi-finals, they are supposed to win atleast 7 matches. The top 2 teams fight each other in the final.
New rules, rain reserve days, and updates for this year’s World Cup match
New Rules for the 2023 World Cup
- Latest update on the boundary rule
It was a fair point that the boundaries at some of the stadiums in India were shorter. Hence, to make the game fair, the ICC board has released a new rule that states that the boundary of a stadium cannot be closer than 70 meters. However, it can always be more.
- No more soft signal rule
You should know that now the third umpire gets more power. The soft signal is now no longer valid. As per this rule, the on-field umpires would make the initial decision on the appeal before taking the third umpire’s view. Well, now, on any appeal, only the third umpire can make a decision.
- Be steady or face the penalty for a slow over
No more slow over-rate. Teams cannot risk taking too long to complete their 50 overs. If they do not complete their bowling overs within a stipulated time period, the umpire can penalize them by not allowing more than 4 fielders outside the 30-yard circle.
What happens if it rains on the day of the match?
It’s India, and we all know how rain falls anytime, even without season. Well, let me tell you there are no reserve days this time for matches that will be canceled owing to rain. Each team will simply get a point each for matches that are canceled.
When and where are the matches being played?
The 13th edition of the ICC World Cup is being hosted in 10 different stadiums across India. This would be the 1st time ever that all the World Cup matches are being hosted completely in India. The 10 stadiums chosen for this are:
| S.No | Venue | Seating capacity | World Cup Matches to be played |
| 1 | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad |
55,000 |
3 |
| 2 | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
40,000 |
5 |
| 3 | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
50,000 |
5 |
| 4 | Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Delhi |
41,842 |
5 |
| 5 | HPCA Cricket Stadium, Dharamshala |
23,000 |
5 |
| 6 | BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow |
50,000 |
5 |
| 7 | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune |
37,406 |
5 |
| 8 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
32,000 |
5 |
| 9 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
66,000 |
5 |
| 10 | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad |
1,32,000 |
5 |
The Semi-finals will be held at Wankhede Stadium and Eden Gardens. The opening match and final will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
What do the winners of the tournament get?
The team that wins the tournament will not just bring home the title of being ICC World Cup 2023 Champions but also be awarded $4 Million, as stated by the ICC board. The runners of the game will get $ 2 million. That’s not it; the winners of each league get $ 40,000.
