New Delhi, Aug 22
Once it became clear that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru would not host the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup games due to a lack of timely clearances from the Karnataka government following the June 4 stampede, several alternative venues were under consideration for the eight-team tournament.
The Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram initially emerged as the frontrunner to host Bengaluru's share of ODI World Cup fixtures. Sources had also told IANS on August 12 that the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) assured the BCCI of preparing the venue on time and making all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the games.
However, on Friday, the ICC confirmed DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai as the fifth venue for the ODI World Cup. According to the revised schedule, the DY Patil Stadium, located about 50 km east of Mumbai, will host three league matches from October 20, including India's games against New Zealand and Mumbai.
It is also lined up to stage the semifinal and final on October 30 and November 2, respectively. Sources familiar with the venue change process told IANS on Friday that DY Patil Stadium featured in the alternative venues list in the initial draft itself, adding that two key factors tipped the scales in its favour: its reputation as a women's sports-friendly venue, and being located in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
"Navi Mumbai has always attracted a great crowd for women's cricket games -- whether it was WPL 2023 or India women's international matches, especially in the series against Australia. It was also a good hosting venue for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and AFC Women's Asian Cup," the sources said.
"Whenever DY Patil has hosted women's cricket games, it has always got a great response from spectators, and that in turn added more heft to its good reputation of being a women's sports-friendly venue in India."
"The absence of direct flights from Thiruvananthapuram to other hosting cities in India was also an issue. But with games in Navi Mumbai, teams along with broadcast crews can travel easily to venues within India from the Mumbai airport and to Colombo as well whenever needed," the sources added.
With Navi Mumbai joining ACA Stadium in Guwahati, ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Holkar Stadium in Indore, and the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the focus now shifts to the cricketing action in the tournament set to run from September 30 to November 2.
- IANS
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