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WC 2011 news : India vs Bangladesh Opening Match World Cup 2011

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India and Bangladesh, two of the co-hosts, will contest the opening game of the 2011 World Cup in Mirpur. The fixtures were announced at an ICC event in Mumbai on Monday. Source.. http://www.cricinfo.com/wc2011/content/current/story/433528.html http://www.cricketnirvana.com/news/international/2009/november/news-20091109-84.html Ind vs WI in Chennai on March 20 :two_thumbs_up: :two_thumbs_up: Edit: Missed the live telecast in Star Cricket :((

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Pakistan happy with SL shift Former players and officials welcomed the orgainsers decision to schedule all of Pakistan's league matches in the 2011 World Cup in Sri Lanka. They felt not playing in India was in the best interest of both the nations. "It is best for our team that they are not playing their World Cup matches in India when relations between both countries continue to be tense," former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said. "It means that the World Cup will not be become a political instrument if the relations between India and Pakistan remain tense during the tournament," added Inzamam, who is Pakistan's most capped player. Former Test batsman Basit Ali said it was disappointing to see Indian fans being robbed off the opportunity to witness Pakistani players in action. "But perhaps it is best for us to play our group matches in Sri Lanka. Hopefully by then conditions would have improved and if we qualify for knockout stages then we can play in India," he said. Sources in the PCB said Chairman Ejaz Butt had not pressurised the ICC against scheduling Pakistan's matches in India. "No but I think the ICC also realised keeping in view the existing relations it would be best to avoid any problems at the time of the tournament although there is still 13 months left for the event to take place," a Pakistan Cricket Board source said. Cricket relations between India and Pakistan have been affected after last November's Mumbai terror with India canceling a scheduled Test tour of the troubled nation early this year. Subsequently, the Pakistan government stopped its players from taking part in the second Indian Premier League which was later shifted to South Africa earlier this year. Another former skipper Rashid Latif said from cricketing and logistical point of view it was good that Pakistan would be based in Sri Lanka. "We have a good track record in Sri Lanka but the only worry is that we will be playing at two brand new venues like Pallekele and Hambantota. "But we are in a tough pool with Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand so it is going to be a tough tournament," Latif said. Latif also noted that with Pakistan playing in Sri Lanka, Pakistani supporters would not face problems travelling to the island country. "Travelling would have been difficult for Pakistanis if we had to play in India," he said. Former chief executive of the PCB Arif Abbasi pointed out that given the bad blood created between the two nations, it was a sensible decision on ICC and organiser's part to keep Pakistan's group matches in Sri Lanka. However, he expressed disappointment that fans back home would not be able to see World Cup matches in Pakistan. "Let us hope the situation improves soon and we can again host international teams. The World Cup is an event that Pakistan's cricket authorities played a big role in bringing to the subcontinent for the first time in 1987 and then again in 1996," he noted.

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"Every cricketer wants to win WC" ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said winning the World Cup is a dream which every player aspires to realise in his career. With the International Cricket Council on Monday making public the fixture of 2011 World Cup, Lorgat said that the preparations for the cricketing extravaganza was on track and the announcement of the schedule would give the staging associations ample time to get ready for their share of matches. "A year ago we were concerned about the slow progress of the preparations. But things have started to move speedily and we are on track. Now every staging centre knows the schedule and will be in a position to prepare for the matches," he told reporters in Mumbai after announcing the World Cup schedule. "Players will say they will play for nothing (prize money) in the World Cup. The World Cup is a prestigious trophy and it is one medal all cricketers aspire to win," he said. Tournament Director Ratnakar Shetty said the organising committee had to do a lot of hard work after it was decided to host all the matches involving Pakistan during the league in Sri Lanka. "It was an important day for the preparation of the event. We can now say preparations have taken off in right earnest," said Shetty, who is also the Chief Administrative Officer of the BCCI. "It was a tough job for logistical reasons to schedule these matches as it not only involved teams to travel from city to city but from country to country too," he said. ICC Vice-President and Chairman of the Central Organising Committee Sharad Pawar said the sub-continent offers great facilities for the game, sponsors, spectators as well as the media. Asked about the possibility of Pakistan playing a match in India if they reach the knock-out stages, Pawar said the cricket-loving population of the country would welcome anyone to play irrespective of the political situation. "I am confident the sports-loving population will welcome anyone and there's no exception," he said. Pawar also expressed confidence that all the infrastructure would be ready in time to hold the World Cup. "I'm confident all the infrastructure would be ready," he said, adding that the ticket prices would be on the lower side. "I can assure you that ticket prices will be lowest irrespective of inflation or no inflation." ODI vs T20 Asked about the relevance of the 50-over game in the wake of the Twenty20 revolution, Lorgat said the public would have devoid of witnessing a great innings like the one played by Sachin Tendulkar at Hyderabad against Australia recently had ODI been not there. "If 50 over game would never have happened we would not have seen Sachin's exceptional knock in the Hyderabad match. "Fifty-over matches are definitely here to stay irrespective of the other formats. If you go and ask cricketers like (Kumar) Sangakkara and Mahendra Singh Dhoni they would say they enjoy this format more than the 20-20 game," the ICC CEO said. "There's nothing wrong with the 50 over game," he insisted. Shetty too echoed his views and said the way the crowds have assembled to watch the India-Australia series shows that ODIs would never die. India captain Dhoni, who was present at the function to announce the schedule, said the World Cup was all about how well the players can handle pressure. "I don't have good memories of my first World Cup in 2007 (in the West Indies when India made an early exit). I have a side which is good. "It's all about how well you handle the pressure," he said. Dhoni also said that most of the youngsters of Indian team have gained valuable experience of playing in and around 50 ODIs which is a good sign keeping in mind the World Cup. "Most of the younger guys have played 50-odd games with one year to go for the World Cup. By then they would have played a 100 games. It will help them in handling pressure situations better," he said. He also said he would not be surprised if Tendulkar was goes on to play the 2015 edition of the World Cup. "The way he's playing it would not be a surprise if he's around for the 2015 World Cup," Dhoni said.

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