Why no cricket World Cup match at Mohali? asks Punjab MP Manish Tewari

Chandigarh: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday, a day after the ICC announced its World Cup schedule beginning October 5, asked BCCI why Mohali was not chosen as a venue for the ODI World Cup.

Since Tuesday, when the International Cricket Council and the BCCI, the Indian cricket board, announced the World Cup schedule, some Opposition leaders have hinted at political interference in scheduling, wondering why Ahmedabad is getting big-ticket matches over many other venues.

Tewari, who is the MP from Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha seat in Punjab, tweeted, "Why skip Mohali as venue of the World Cup? @ShuklaRajiv @BCCI @cricketworldcup @ICC." Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Tuesday condemned the exclusion of Mohali from the list of host cities for the cricket World Cup-2023.

Hayer described the exclusion of Mohali for the World Cup matches as "open discrimination" against Punjab.

Hayer also said it was the first time since the construction of PCA Stadium-Mohali that a World Cup was being held in India and yet the city was not chosen as a venue for any match.

Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata are the 10 venues chosen for the marquee tournament.