Pakistan would be welcomed for final - Sharad Pawar

Sharad Pawar, the chairman of the 2011 World Cup's organising committee, is confident that should Pakistan make it to the final of the tournament, India would welcome them to play at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Relations between the governments of India and Pakistan were strained following the terror attacks in Mumbai last November and bilateral cricket between the countries was put on hold. India's tour to Pakistan, scheduled for early 2009, was cancelled and Pakistan players were asked by their government not to travel to India for any events. Pawar, however, was confident there would be no hurdles if Pakistan made it into the final of an event like the World Cup.

"There is no exception whether it is Pakistan or any other country," Pawar said after the 2011 World Cup fixtures were announced in Mumbai. "I am confident the sport-loving population of this country [India] will welcome anybody who reaches the stage [the final]."

Pakistan, who lost its share of World Cup matches because of the adverse security situation in the country, are in Group A and will play all their league matches in Sri Lanka. The schedule is such that only if Pakistan make it past the semi-finals will they have to play in India.

The 43-day event comprises 49 games spread over three countries and 13 venues and is a week shorter than the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive was optimistic that the 2011 tournament would erase the negative memories of 2007 competition.

Lorgat said the 2011 format was slicker, competitive and exciting. "It is fair to say that it is almost a week less than the previous edition and that in itself should help make it more concise," Lorgat said. "But we have done everything, bearing in mind that there are 14 teams competing across three countries so you've got to take logistics into account, so I hope it is a slicker than the previous World Cup."

Lorgat said the format of this tournament - two groups of seven teams - ensured there was "more opportunity" for a team to make it to the quarter-finals, unlike in 2007 when one bad game made it difficult to qualify for the next round. He did not think that the quality of cricket would be weaker in 2011, considering there are four Associates teams in the tournament. "There is a balance between providing opportunities for all of our members to get to the flagship event," Lorgat said. "We have reduced it from previous six Associates teams qualifying down to four now. But we have to be mindful about finding a balance between the length and an opportunity for all our members to participate."

Lorgat said the Associates would be more than a handful in 2011 compared to the previous edition because of the exhaustive qualification process. "The qualifying process, which started after the 2007 World Cup, was very competitive. We now have got a decent balance with only four teams added to 10 teams who are strong by their very stature and we hope to have some competitive games."

When Pawar was asked if the organisers would adopt the same model adopted by CARICOM during the 2007 World Cup - to give a common visa to fans to travel across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - he was optimistic. "That is a suggestion. We are discussing this with the government to offer a common visa for all three countries hosting the event."

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"Every cricketer wants to win WC"

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said winning the World Cup is a dream which every player aspires to realise in his career.

With the International Cricket Council on Monday making public the fixture of 2011 World Cup, Lorgat said that the preparations for the cricketing extravaganza was on track and the announcement of the schedule would give the staging associations ample time to get ready for their share of matches.

"A year ago we were concerned about the slow progress of the preparations. But things have started to move speedily and we are on track. Now every staging centre knows the schedule and will be in a position to prepare for the matches," he told reporters in Mumbai after announcing the World Cup schedule.

"Players will say they will play for nothing (prize money) in the World Cup. The World Cup is a prestigious trophy and it is one medal all cricketers aspire to win," he said.

Tournament Director Ratnakar Shetty said the organising committee had to do a lot of hard work after it was decided to host all the matches involving Pakistan during the league in Sri Lanka.

"It was an important day for the preparation of the event. We can now say preparations have taken off in right earnest," said Shetty, who is also the Chief Administrative Officer of the BCCI.

"It was a tough job for logistical reasons to schedule these matches as it not only involved teams to travel from city to city but from country to country too," he said.
ICC Vice-President and Chairman of the Central Organising Committee Sharad Pawar said the sub-continent offers great facilities for the game, sponsors, spectators as well as the media.

Asked about the possibility of Pakistan playing a match in India if they reach the knock-out stages, Pawar said the cricket-loving population of the country would welcome anyone to play irrespective of the political situation.

"I am confident the sports-loving population will welcome anyone and there's no exception," he said.

Pawar also expressed confidence that all the infrastructure would be ready in time to hold the World Cup.

"I'm confident all the infrastructure would be ready," he said, adding that the ticket prices would be on the lower side.

"I can assure you that ticket prices will be lowest irrespective of inflation or no inflation."
ODI vs T20

Asked about the relevance of the 50-over game in the wake of the Twenty20 revolution, Lorgat said the public would have devoid of witnessing a great innings like the one played by Sachin Tendulkar at Hyderabad against Australia recently had ODI been not there.

"If 50 over game would never have happened we would not have seen Sachin's exceptional knock in the Hyderabad match.

"Fifty-over matches are definitely here to stay irrespective of the other formats. If you go and ask cricketers like (Kumar) Sangakkara and Mahendra Singh Dhoni they would say they enjoy this format more than the 20-20 game," the ICC CEO said.
"There's nothing wrong with the 50 over game," he insisted.

Shetty too echoed his views and said the way the crowds have assembled to watch the India-Australia series shows that ODIs would never die.

India captain Dhoni, who was present at the function to announce the schedule, said the World Cup was all about how well the players can handle pressure.

"I don't have good memories of my first World Cup in 2007 (in the West Indies when India made an early exit). I have a side which is good.

"It's all about how well you handle the pressure," he said.

Dhoni also said that most of the youngsters of Indian team have gained valuable experience of playing in and around 50 ODIs which is a good sign keeping in mind the World Cup.

"Most of the younger guys have played 50-odd games with one year to go for the World Cup. By then they would have played a 100 games. It will help them in handling pressure situations better," he said.

He also said he would not be surprised if Tendulkar was goes on to play the 2015 edition of the World Cup.

"The way he's playing it would not be a surprise if he's around for the 2015 World Cup," Dhoni said.

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India to face B'desh in WC opener

India will open their 2011 World Cup campaign against Bangladesh in Dhaka on February 19 and host its first match of the mega-event the next day in Chennai.

Placed in Group B, alongside South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands, India will host 29 matches of the quadrennial tournament, including the final and a semi-final.

The first match on Indian soil will have New Zealand and Kenya locking horns in Chennai on February 20.

Denied hosting rights owing to security concerns, Pakistan will play all their group A matches in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, set to host the second biggest chunk of 12 matches in the event, will have their first game on February 20 with the hosts taking on Canada.

The Lankans are in group A, which also has defending champions Australia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Bangladesh, which will host two quarter-finals, will have just eight matches in all to organise.

India's commercial capital Mumbai will host the final of the February-March event.
Mohali will host one of the semi-finals along with two other matches, while Ahmedabad will host a quarter-final and two other games.

Kolkata and Delhi will host one India and three other matches each. Jaipur has been left out of the list of venues with Nagpur, Chennai and Bangalore getting one India game each.

The 2011 event will be a week shorter than the 2007 edition, which was held in West Indies.

"The announcement of the match schedule for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is an exciting development as not only does it allow all our stakeholders to start planning their tours but it will also remind everyone that we are getting closer to the staging of the biggest event in world cricket, where the leading cricketers from all over the globe will battle it out for the top prize in the game," ICC Vice-President and Chairman of the Central Organising Committee Sharad Pawar said.

"The sub-continent offers some great facilities for the cricketers, spectators, sponsors and media, and with some brand new stadia to be built and others to be upgraded, the match schedule will allow the venues to focus on the task at hand to plan and implement their preparations," he added.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said advance scheduling would allow the hosts to plan their preparations well.

"The match schedule will allow the teams, commercial partners, spectators and media to commence with planning their tours. Preparation of venues and safety and security planning continues and I am confident that the host countries will showcase our great sport with its great spirit in the best possible light," he said. .

"The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will be the ICC's next 50-over tournament after the highly successful ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa," Lorgat said.
"And with plenty of high-quality matches played since that event concluded last month, I'm convinced that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in the sub-continent will further cement the status of ODIs and once again illustrate one of cricket's greatest strengths," he added.

Tournament director Ratnakar Shetty promised a memorable World Cup.
"The sub-continent has hosted high-quality events in the past, including two ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987 and 1996, and we are committed to stage another world-class event in 2011, one which will be memorable and enjoyable for all," he said.
Shetty called on the local organisers to spruce up the venues in time.

"The announcement of the match schedule will mean that the venues hosting the matches will have to meet their timelines to ensure everything is ready for what we believe will be a superb spectacle and a great advertisement for the sport which has a huge following in the sub-continent," he said.

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Mumbai to host final of 2011 WC

Mumbai will host the final, along with two other matches of the 2011 cricket World Cup.
Meanwhile, Mohali will host one of the semifinals of the 2011 cricket World Cup to be organised jointly by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The Local Organising Committee met on Wednesday to finalise the venue-based distribution of the 29 games that India is scheduled to host.

The rest of the 20 games of the 49-match event have been awarded to Sri Lanka (12) and Bangaldesh (8).

The committee decided to give two other matches to Mohali apart from the semifinal.
Ahmedabad has been given a quarterfinal and two other games, while Kolkata and Delhi will host one India and three other matches each, BCCI secretary N Srinivas said in a statement.

Jaipur has been left out of the list of venues with Nagpur, Chennai and Bangalore getting one India game each.

India's share of World Cup matches increased by eight after the games scheduled in Pakistan were shifted to other co-hosts due to security concerns of the participating countries.

The venue-based match distribution: Mumbai: (Final and two games); Mohali (Semifinal and two games); Ahmedabad (Quarterfinal and two games); Delhi (one India game and three games); Chennai (one India game and three games); Bangalore (one India game and three games); Nagpur (one India game and three games); Kolkata (one India game and three games).

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Itinerary announced for 2011 World Cup

India have been placed in Group B -- along with England and South Africa -- for the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the itinerary on Wednesday after a Board meeting in Johannesburg.

"In Group A there will be Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya. In Group B there will be India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands," the ICC said in a statement.

The meeting also approved the schedule for next year's Under-19 World Cup scheduled in January in New Zealand.

"The full schedule will be posted on the ICC website shortly," the statement read.

Apart from this, the meeting also discussed ways to promote cricket and decided to have more research on the concept of day/night Tests.

"A competitive analysis of other sports and entertainment products will be carried out by a working group and there will be further research carried out into various proposals for product development and variation of Test cricket, such as day/night Test matches," the ICC said.

"The working group will be chaired by ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and will include a representative from each Full Member as well as the ICC General Manager Commercial, Campbell Jamieson and ICC General Manager Cricket, David Richardson," it added.

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