ODI World Cup: India to play Pakistan on Oct 15 in Ahmedabad as per draft schedule
New Delhi, Jun 12: India will open their ODI World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8 while Ahmedabad will host their much-anticipated match against arch-rivals Pakistan a week later, according to BCCI's draft schedule for the tournament.
"The BCCI shared the draft schedule with the ICC, which then sent it to the participating countries for feedback before a final schedule is put out early next week," ESPNCricinfo reported on Monday.
As per the initial draft, the tournament will begin on October 5 with reigning champions England taking on last edition's runner-up side New Zealand in Ahmedabad, which will also host the final on November 19.
The venues for the semifinals, which are likely to be played on November 15 and 16, are yet to be decided.
Hosts India, who last won the ODI World Cup in 2011 at home, will play their league phase matches across nine cities, including, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. They will take on Pakistan on October 15.
Pakistan, meanwhile, will play their league matches across five cities.
"Pakistan are slotted to meet the two teams progressing from the Qualifier on October 6 and 12 in Hyderabad, and then Australia in Bengaluru (October 20), Afghanistan (October 23) and South Africa (October 27) in Chennai, Bangladesh in Kolkata (October 31), New Zealand in Bengaluru (November 5, day match) and England in Kolkata (November 12)," the report read.
Australia's match against Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in Dharamsala on October 29 and against England in Ahmedabad on November 4 are some of the other big fixtures.
A total of 10 teams will participate in the tournament. Out of these, eight teams have already been decided and while two other teams will qualify for the main tournament via the qualifiers.
With a little over four months left for the marquee event to begin, there has been an unprecedented delay in releasing the schedule.
The schedule of the last two editions of the tournament -- 2015 and 2019 -- was finalised over a year in advance.
India's tentative schedule:
India vs Australia, Oct 8, Chennai
India vs Afghanistan, Oct 11, Delhi
India vs Pakistan, Oct 15, Ahmedabad
India vs Bangladesh, Oct 19, Pune
India vs New Zealand, Oct 22, Dharamsala
India vs England, Oct 29, Lucknow
India vs Qualifier, Nov 2, Mumbai
India vs South Aafrica, Nov 5, Kolkata
India vs Qualifier, Nov 11, Bengaluru.
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Maharashtra village goes ‘caste-free’, penalties for abuse, 2-hour student “no-phone” period
New Delhi: A village in Maharashtra's Ahilyanagar district made an effort to redefine social boundaries through a unanimous gram sabha resolution, with residents of Soundala publicly declaring the village "caste-free" earlier this month.
According to a report published by The Print, during a specially convened gram sabha, a resolution was passed on February 5, which calls for the removal of caste-based distinctions from public and social life. It urges residents to interact only on the basis of shared humanity. It also prohibits inquiries into caste identity and affirms equal access to public spaces, religious places, water sources, schools and government services.
Soundala is located about 350 km from Mumbai. It has a population of around 2,500 across nearly 450 families. Majority of the families belong to upper castes while a significant Dalit population, alongside a small number of Muslim and Christian families also live in the village. While overt discrimination had been declining over the years, residents say the resolution gives formal expression to changes that were gradually taking root.
The initiative was led by village sarpanch Sharad Argade. The Print quoted him as saying that the move was initiated because of rising caste and communal tensions in neighbouring areas of the state and he feared that social divisions seen elsewhere could harden in his own village if left unaddressed.
According to Argade, the idea of declaring Soundala caste-free was discussed over time, influenced by social worker Pramod Zinjade and shaped by his family’s long involvement in local politics. Argade’s wife Priyanka, a former sarpanch, is credited by villagers with playing a key role in challenging social norms through her outreach work, which included visiting homes across caste lines.
The resolution states that Soundala will not differentiate on the basis of caste, religion, creed or colour, and adopts the motto “My caste is humanity." The resolution also warns against social or economic boycotts, communal statements and the circulation of inflammatory content on social media, with provisions for penalties.
After the resolution villagers are sharing food in festivals, visiting each other's houses, and attending community events together. Older residents recall a time when Dalits were forced to sit separately at weddings, use different wells, and stay away from upper-caste houses. Members of the Muslim community also spoke of earlier experiences of exclusion that discouraged social interaction.
Soundala has also introduced penalties for verbal abuse, discouraged discriminatory practices against widows and extended financial support for widow remarriage. The gram panchayat also provides educational support to girls up to Class 12 and enforces a daily two-hour “no mobile phone” period for students to encourage study.
Two months before the caste-free resolution, the village had also adopted a practice of playing the national anthem each morning over a loudspeaker. Argade said it was intended to reinforce a shared civic identity.
Acknowledging that caste remains relevant in government policy, particularly in reservation for education and employment, the sarpanch was quoted by The Print as saying that the aim was to confine caste to official records and remove it from daily behaviour.
