Pakistan stars arrived in India on Wednesday for the 2023 edition of men's ODI World Cup, starting October 5.
Pakistan's cricket squad arrived in India on Wednesday with tight security in place, as it prepares to take part in the upcoming seven-week-long World Cup. This visit marks Pakistan's first trip to India since 2016, and crowds of excited fans, held back by security personnel, cheered and chanted the name of team captain Babar Azam and other players as they arrived at the airport in Hyderabad. The ODI tournament is scheduled to commence on October 5, with Pakistan opening their campaign the next day.
India and Pakistan have a history of political tensions and international matches between the two nations are typically restricted to global and continental tournaments. On Wednesday, however, Pakistan received a grand welcome in India and the players took to their official social media account to express their delight over the same. The side's captain Babar Azam, star bowler Shaheen Afridi and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were among players taking to social media to thank the Indian authorities, as well as the crowd.
“Amazing reception from the people here. Everything was super smooth. Looking forward to the next 1.5 months,” Rizwan wrote on X.
Babar and Shaheen posted Instagram stories; the Pakistan captain wrote he is “overwhelmed” by the love and support in India, while the fierce left-arm pacer Shaheen was impressed with the welcome.
The World Cup will feature 48 matches spread across 46 days at 10 different venues, culminating in the final on November 19. Pakistan has two warm-up matches scheduled – one against New Zealand on September 29 and another against Australia on October 3, both to be held in Hyderabad. The game against New Zealand will be played behind closed doors following an assessment of security arrangements to a major festival on the day.
Will miss fans
During his pre-departure press conference in Pakistan, Babar stated that the sid is not under pressure but will miss its fans when it plays the World Cup matches in India.
"All of us are proud of travelling for the World Cup. Although we have not played in India before, we are not taking too much pressure. We have done our research and we have heard the conditions are similar to how they play out in other Asian countries. It is quite an honour for me to travel as the captain this time around, I hope we come back with a trophy this time.
“Unfortunately, we will be missing the fans. However, as far as I know, the games are all sold out so we will be playing in jam-packed stadiums. Although our fans will not be there, I know they will make sure their love is heard on social media. I have heard that the fans in India also show their love, although I have not experienced that as of yet but I am excited to play in India as well,” Babar added.