The 2023 Cricket World Cup kicked off on Thursday, October 5, 2023, in Ahmedabad, India, with defending champions England taking on New Zealand. The tournament will see ten teams compete in a round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals. The final will be played on November 19 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Teams and Qualification for the 2023 Cricket World Cup

The 10 teams that will compete in the 2023 Cricket World Cup are:

• India (host nation)
• Afghanistan
• Australia
• Bangladesh
• England
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Pakistan
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka

Qualification

Seven teams qualified for the 2023 Cricket World Cup through the ICC Super League, which ran from July 2020 to May 2023. The top seven teams in the Super League qualified for the World Cup, along with India as the host nation.

The remaining two teams qualified through the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which was held in Zimbabwe in June and July 2023. The Netherlands and Sri Lanka won the Qualifier and qualified for the World Cup.

Notable absences

The most notable absence from the 2023 Cricket World Cup is the West Indies. The West Indies are two-time World Cup champions, but they failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time in their history.

Format and schedule

The first stage of the ODI tournament will be a round-robin format where all teams will play each other once, resulting in 45 matches. The first phase will conclude on November 12 with a match between India and Netherlands in Bengaluru.

The top four teams at the end of the round-robin stage will qualify for the semifinals. The teams finishing first and fourth will play the first semifinal on November 15 in Mumbai, while the second and third teams will meet in the second semifinal on November 16 in Kolkata.

However, if Pakistan qualify for the semifinals, they will play the match in Kolkata irrespective of their ranking in the table; and if India qualify, they will play in Mumbai. If both teams clash in the semifinal, the match will be played in Kolkata.

Venues

Matches will be spread all over the length and breadth of the country, from Chennai in the south to Dharamshala in the north, Kolkata in the east, to Ahmedabad in the west.

The host cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamshala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune.

Controversies

Leading up to the October 5 inauguration, the tournament has plagued by a series of controversies concerning its organization, timing, and coordination with participating teams and fans.

The tournament’s schedule unveiled just 100 days prior to the first match, eliciting criticism from fans who noted stark differences with other major sporting events that typically release their schedules several months, if not years, ahead of time.

Ticket Sales Update

The ICC has been releasing tournament tickets in several batches. And the most recent batch, including tickets for the semifinals and the final, has already sold out.

Amidst this ticket frenzy, cricket enthusiasts have voiced their concerns about the limited access to tickets for both local and traveling fans. Meanwhile, there has criticism directed at Jay Shah, the head of Indian cricket, for reportedly distributing exclusive “golden tickets” to Indian film and cricket celebrities.

Prize money

Total: $10m
Winners: $4m
Runners-up: $2m
Semifinalists: $800,000
Teams finishing at the group stage: $100,000
Each group stage win: $40,000