The <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/cricket-world-cup/" target="_blank">2023 Cricket World Cup</a> India is less than three months away and after a prolonged delay in announcing the schedule, the build-up towards the 50-over tournament has finally started. The World Cup will begin on October 5 in Ahmedabad, with a clash between <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/cricket/england-beat-new-zealand-to-lift-cricket-world-cup-amid-controversy-at-lord-s-1.886232" target="_blank">champions England</a> and 2019 finalists New Zealand. The final of the tournament will take place at the same venue on November 19, with a total of 48 matches at 10 venues. For a long time, there was uncertainty over the fate of the tournament after Pakistan held back their participation following India's refusal to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup. But after many negotiations, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/cricket/2023/06/27/india-to-play-pakistan-on-october-15-as-cricket-world-cup-schedule-is-released/" target="_blank">a breakthrough was achieved </a>and that means the top eight teams – hosts India, England, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh – are set for the showpiece event, with Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka most likely to join them from the qualifying tournament. The focus now shifts to the venues that will host the matches. All host associations have been granted funds by the Indian cricket board to upgrade the venues for the tournament. Newer ones like the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow are in better condition and will only need cosmetic refurbishments. However, the older ones such as Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi and Eden Gardens in Kolkata require more serious work. Also, the outfield at many stadiums were recently relaid with the aim of improving playing conditions. The 10 cities that will host the World Cup matches are Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Delhi, Dharamsala, Chennai, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata and Pune. Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will also host warm-up matches from September 29 to October 3. Below you can see the venues that are spread across the country. In the picture gallery above, you can see the venues and their capacity. The venues for the 2023 World Cup are spread across India. The furthest venues are Dharamsala in the north and Thiruvananthapuram (warm-up game) in the south – a distance of 3,300 km. However, when it comes to World Cup main match venues, Dharamsala, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Kolkata are the venues that are furthest apart. Mumbai and Pune are closest to each other – just 150km apart. Dharamsala to Chennai - 2,600 km (no direct flights) Dharamsala to Bengaluru - 2,600 km (no direct flights) Ahmedabad to Kolkata - 2,000 km (2.5 hours)
