The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 kicked off with the opening match between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with no opening ceremony. The ceremony for the showpiece event was said to take place on October 4 along with the captains roundtable but the former was called off a day before the ceremony was said to take place. As per a report in the Times of India, an opening ceremony was never planned to be held before the start of the Cricket World Cup matches.
No Plan for Opening Ceremony
“There was never an opening ceremony planned for the World Cup. I can confirm that,” TOI quoted a source as saying. “In the case of the IPL, you can have a short opening ceremony, as the match starts in the evening. Here, the match starts in the afternoon,” explained the source.
While there was no opening ceremony the BCCI hosted a captains roundtable on Wednesday, October 4 where captains of the 10 teams were bombarded with questions by Ravi Shastri who was present at the event as the host. When India captain Rohit Sharma was asked about the fact that the last three World Cups were won by one of the hosting nations, he downplayed the factor.
No Pressure
“Not thinking too much about that stuff but yeah in the last 3 editions hosting teams won the World Cups and we will give our everything in this World Cup and enjoy the tournament,” Rohit said in the World Cup 2023 Captain’s Day event. “People are going to love this tournament. The stadiums will be jam-packed. Indians love their cricket. It is going to be a great tournament,” Rohit added.
Pakistani captain was asked about Hyderabad’s hospitality during the event he replied “We received good hospitality, and we were not expecting this, but I think the way people responded to us, everyone enjoyed it. We are here for a week in Hyderabad, so we do not feel like we are in India; it was like we are at home. We enjoyed and had a lot of fun. It’s good, and I think it’s a golden opportunity for everyone to give 100% and enjoy the tournament.”
