New Delhi: The ICC on Tuesday unveiled the schedule and locations for the 2023 men's World Cup, which will take place in India in October and November. England and New Zealand, who competed in the final of the last edition, will face off in the tournament's opening match on October 5 at Ahmedabad's illustrious Narendra Modi Stadium.
Three days later, in Chennai, India will face Australia to start their campaign. They will then play Afghanistan in Delhi before facing Pakistan on October 15 in Ahmedabad.
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At the occasion where the World Cup schedule was revealed, former India opener Virender Sehwag, Sri Lankan icon Muttiah Muralitharan, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, and ICC CEO Geoff Allardice were in attendance at Mumbai's St Regis hotel.
Muralitharan was asked to speak on the 2011 finals, which saw India play Sri Lanka at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. He was questioned over the former captain of India, MS Dhoni, who had entered the batting order ahead of a healthy Yuvraj Singh.
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Muralitharan claimed Yuvraj was uncomfortable playing against him and India didn't want to lose any more wickets at that point in the game, so he was not surprised by the decision. When Dhoni stepped out to bat, many were taken aback. At that point, India was three down for 114 and needed to score 275 runs.
The illustrious spinner claimed that Dhoni felt more at ease playing against him since he had spent a lot of time playing his balls in the nets when Muralitharan was playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
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“I knew because Yuvraj (Singh) was not very comfortable to play me, although he was the best player in World Cup at that time, middle-order number four position. I knew because I was bowling a lot against him (Dhoni) in the nets in Chennai while playing in the IPL. So Dhoni knew how to play me very well. So I thought he didn't want to give any wickets to me, because I was wicketless despite bowling well," said Muralitharan during the event.
"There was a lot of dew at that time and we couldn't spin the ball much. Gambhir was there at the other end, so when we got the wicket definitely I knew he will come, because he knows how to play me very well as I've played for Chennai (Super Kings),” he added.
In the championship game, Muralitharan bowled eight overs and allowed 39 runs, or little under 5 runs per over, to score. In contrast, Dhoni played a game-winning innings of 91* off 79 balls, which included eight fours and two sixes and was also India's final World Cup victory.
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