ICC World Cup 2011 Schedule

Good times are here for India. The country will get to host the tenth world cup of its most loved sport in 2011 along with co-hosts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will be the first time co-hosting for Bangladesh in a cricket world cup. Fourteen national teams are scheduled to compete for the coveted cup between February and early April 2011. According to the announced fixtures of ICC World Cup 2011, the first match will be played among co-hosts India and Sri Lanka at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

The formerly announced time-table of 2011 world cup also included Pakistan as a co-hosting nation but the 2009 attack on Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore which left seven players injured, forced the world cup governing body (ICC) to strip off Pakistan of its co-hosting rights on Apr 17, 2009. India will now host 29 of the total 49 planned matches including the all important grand final at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai and one semi-final as well. Sri Lanka will host 12 matches while the first time nation Bangladesh has been given the opportunity to host the tournament opener along with eight other matches. Since India has been allotted the highest number of matches, the ICC has moved its headquarters to Mumbai to ensure smooth and timely preparations for the event. Mr. Ratnakar Shetty has been appointed as the managing director of the event, while the security directorate will be headed by Mr. Shashank Manohar of BCCI.

The allocation of world cup venues is always a much sought after event with major cricketing nations bidding for hosting rights. To avoid favoritism, the ICC prefers to rotate venues between major cricket playing nations. In the bidding for the 2011 event, Australia/New Zealand had an upper hand over the trio of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as they had not had a chance to host the World cup since 1992. But Indias argument that the trio being a bigger group of countries helped clinch the final deal. The 2015 cricket world cup will be held in Australia/New Zealand.

Cricket world cup organized every four years is the fourth largest and one of the most eagerly awaited and viewed event of the cricket world. It is widely considered to be the pinnacle of achievement in this sport. The excitement among fans is already palpable as the first phase of tickets was put for sale in Mumbai on 1 June 2010. Priced affordably at around 20 US cents, the organizing committee is expecting to reap in bumper sales and not diminish the euphoria of fans. The new revised format of the world cup wherein 14 teams instead of 16 will be participating also ensures that fans get to see their favorite teams play a minimum of six matches even if they are ruled out of the tournament due to early defeats.

Cricket fan or not- there is no way you can escape the all-engulfing madness. From cricket merchandise at stores to travel packages to host nations and restaurants and cafes serving cricket-themed food, the fever is all over. Personal relationships too are not unaffected by the craze. While the love for cricket unites some, it also spells doom for many relationships. There is simply no running away, so prepare to drown yourself in the drone of cricket slogans in the year to come.

So, Get the latest ICC World Cup 2011 Schedule to be played in 2011. The world cup 2011 schedule will begin on Feb 19, 2011. Cricket World Cup 2011 schedule will have 14 teams, out of which 10 would be of test rank status.