ICC accepts PCB's demand as Pakistan to play WC warm-ups vs non-Asian teams

The schedule for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 in India has been announced, along with the ten venues that will host the tournament over a period of 46 days later this year. The World Cup begins on October 5 with a match between England and New Zealand, a rematch of the 2019 Final, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Preceding the main tournament, a series of warm-up matches will take place a week earlier, starting on September 29th and concluding on October 3rd. These warm-up fixtures will be held at Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati.

Pakistan's warm-up games have been scheduled against New Zealand and Australia on September 29th and October 3rd, respectively, in Hyderabad.

According to a recent media report, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had expressed a preference for playing against a team from outside the Asian region in the warm-up matches, as they are already scheduled to participate in the 2023 Asia Cup preceding the World Cup.

The PCB conveyed this preference to the International Cricket Council (ICC) during the ICC officials' visit to Pakistan a few weeks ago.