2019 World Cup: India to play their first-match against SA
What's the story
The fixtures for the 2019 World Cup are finally out. Virat Kohli and his men in blue will begin their World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5. The premier tournament will be hosted by England and will begin on May 30 with the final of the tournament to be played on July 14. The final will be hosted at The Lord's.
Information
India's opening fixture was initially scheduled on June 2
Reports suggest that India were initially scheduled to play their first fixture on June 2 but the fixture has been pushed to June 5 because of the Lodha Committee's recommendation, which states that a 15-day gap is required between IPL and an international fixture.
Quote
Fixture has been postponed in accordance with Lodha Committee's recommendation
"2019 IPL will be played between March 29-May 19. But we need to maintain a 15-day gap and World Cup starts on May 30. Therefore as per 15-day gap we could have only played on June 5," a BCCI official said.
New format
World Cup format changed to Round Robin
India opened their 2015 World Cup and 2017 Champions Trophy campaigns against arch-rivals Pakistan but this time around that will not be the case. Further, 2019 World Cup is going to see a change in format and a round-robin stage will be held, where all teams will face each other like the 1992 edition. Complete World Cup schedule will be released on April 30.