Stars from Pakistan arrived in India on Wednesday in preparation for the men’s ODI World Cup of 2023, which begins on October 5.
The cricket team from Pakistan arrived in India on Wednesday under heavy security as it gets ready to compete in the next, seven-week World Cup. Pakistan is traveling to India for the first time since 2016, and as the team’s captain Babar Azam, and other players arrived at the airport in Hyderabad, large groups of enthusiastic fans shouted and chanted their names while being restrained by security agents. On October 5, the ODI competition is set to begin, and Pakistan will play its first match the following day.
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Political difficulties between India and Pakistan have a long history, hence the two countries’ international matches are mainly limited to regional and global competitions. However, Pakistan was given a warm welcome in India on Wednesday, and the players posted about it on their official social media accounts. Babar Azam, the team’s captain, Shaheen Afridi, and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were among the players to express gratitude to the Indian government and crowd on social media.
Amazing response from the locals. Everything went extremely well. I’m excited about the upcoming 1.5 months,” Rizwan commented on X.
Babar and Shaheen both shared Instagram stories; the Pakistani skipper said that he was “overwhelmed” by the love and support in India, while the fearsome left-arm bowler Shaheen expressed his admiration for the reception.
The World Cup will consist of 48 games played over 46 days at 10 different venues, with the championship game taking place on November 19. Pakistan will play two exhibition games, one on September 29 against New Zealand and the other on October 3 against Australia, both in Hyderabad. After evaluating the security measures for a significant festival that day, the game against New Zealand will be played behind closed doors.
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Babar added that the sid is not under any pressure but will miss its fans when it plays the World Cup matches in India during his pre-departure press conference in Pakistan.
“We’re all happy about the World Cup trip we took. We haven’t played in India before, but we don’t feel any pressure. We’ve done our investigation, and we’ve heard that the circumstances are comparable to those in other Asian nations. Being the captain this time around is an honor, and I sincerely hope we return with a trophy.
“Unfortunately, we won’t have any fans. We will play in crowded stadiums since, as far as I know, all of the games are sold out. Even though they won’t be present, our followers will still show their support by posting on social media. Although I have not personally witnessed it yet, I have heard that Indian fans are also quite supportive, and that makes me want to play there as well, Babar continued.
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