The tournament will kick off on October 5, with the opening match taking place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The final will also be held at the same venue on November 19. The semifinals, on the other hand, will be hosted by Mumbai and Kolkata on November 15 and 16, respectively.

Since the fixture announcement by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on June 27, there has been significant controversy surrounding the choice of venues by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for this prestigious event.

“Hyderabad Stadium the 4th largest cricket stadium in India with 55k capacity also being in a dry plateau region there is minimal chance of rain and no dew factor so match won’t be toss dependent I feel it’s better than Mumbai and Ahmedabad where dew factor plays huge role (sic), wrote one user on Twitter.

“Very much unfair not to give 1 india match in Hyderabad Even on Normal days irrespective of high ticket prices tickets were sold out in 1 hour Hyderabad fans were most passionate fans @JayShah and @BCCI serious explanation needed here,” wrote another.

“Why there is no match at Sawai MaanSingh Stadium, Jaipur. Is there any bad relation between @BCCI and Rajasthan Cricket Association ??” wondered one user.

“Shaheed Veer Narayan stadium, Raipur is better than any stadium and still didn’t get the chance. Mohali missed too so it’s simple bcz better stadium like Pune & Lucknow got the chance this time & they deserve too (sic),” argued another user.

“Hey @BCCI why are the southern cities not given preference for hosting semifinals and final matches? What’s this disparity? Why not Hyderabad? Why not Bengaluru? Why not chennai?” asked an user.

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer expressed his concerns and suggested that politics might have influenced the decision-making process. He expressed disappointment that a stadium that had produced many Indian cricket superstars did not receive a single match.