Pakistan wants venues change for World Cup matches against Australia and Afghanistan.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made an unusual request to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding a venue change for two of their league matches in the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup. Presently, Pakistan is set to face Australia in Bengaluru on October 20, followed by a match against Afghanistan in Chennai on October 23. However, the PCB has formally requested to switch the venues, proposing to play Afghanistan in Bengaluru and Australia in Chennai instead.

Although the PCB did not provide a specific reason for their request, an internal note from the board expressed a desire to alter the match order. The note stated, “Australia in Bengaluru and Afghanistan in Chennai are the two which we should look to get changed as much as possible. Ideally, we can switch these around. Australia in Chennai and Afghanistan in Bengaluru would make us obvious favorites in both matches.”

It remains uncertain whether the ICC has responded to the PCB’s appeal or if they are even considering the proposed venue swap. Furthermore, apart from their scheduled match against Afghanistan in the warm-up phase, Pakistan has also asked the ICC if they could instead play one of the teams such as South Africa, England, New Zealand, or Australia.