The India vs. Pakistan Cricket World Cup 2023 match is finally here. Everyone is excited, but many fans are angry over the pre-match show.
Table of Contents
The ODI World Cup match between rivals is the 12th match of the CWC23. The much-awaited match will be played today at 2:00 PM, and the toss will be conducted at 1:30 PM, half an hour before the start of the play. The match will be at the grand 1.30,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
In the One Day International (ODI) format, seven matches have been played between the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan. In these seven matches, the hosts maintain a winning streak of seven, with Pakistan struggling to register a single win. There is much pressure on Pakistan as they have just played two matches in the hosting country since the World Cup of 2011.
Squads of India and Pakistan
India’s 15-member squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubham Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.
The 11-member squad for the match will be revealed at the time of the toss. The in-form opener, Shubham Gill, who is suffering from dengue, is in doubt about the match. In place of Gill, Ishan will open the innings with Rohit Sharma. Many players are in good form and have performed well in previous matches. India’s team needs to beware of the left-arm pacers.
Pakistan’s 15-member squad: Babar Azam (c), Imam ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (w), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usma Mir, Harris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Mohammad Wasim.
Pakistan’s 11-member squad for the match will be revealed at the time of the coin toss. Babar Azam’s poor form is a topic of concern for the team. The wicketkeeper, Rizwan, hit a century in the last match and looks good. Indian batsmen struggle with fast pacers, especially pacers Shaheen Afridi and Harris Rauf who can prove lethal for India, especially in the powerplays.
Fans are angry for the pre-match show
India is widely known as a country where cricket is considered a religion. For Indians, cricket is an emotion, and it is obvious that there is much excitement and high spirit for the much-awaited, blockbuster Cricket World Cup match between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan. Everyone is patiently waiting for one of the biggest matches in the world.
As much as there is hype and excitement for the match, there is some disappointment among fans toward the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for a pre-match show. The fans slammed the cricketing boards for their decision to schedule a pre-match show which consists of performances by Bollywood stars.
No opening ceremony, but a pre-match show!
All the previous editions of the 2011, 2015, and 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cups had opening ceremonies, but this time, the ICC and BCCI decided not to conduct the opening ceremony for the mega cricketing tournament. Shockingly, the ICC CWC23, which is staged in India for the first time as a solo host, did not have an opening ceremony.
For the pre-match show, Bollywood stars including singer Arjit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, and Sukhwinder Singh will be performing in the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Click on the names to open BCCI’s X (Twitter) to view the announcement. With all these stars, fans are filled with anger and disappointment over the special treatment given to the Pakistan cricket team.
The decision to schedule a pre-match show faced criticism and backlash from many cricket fans, who took to social media to express their disappointment. The fans threatened to boycott the high-profile match between arch-rivals. The fan’s anger was aroused due to Pakistan’s support for terrorism against the hosting country.
Having no opening ceremony but scheduling a pre-match show for one match disrespects the other eight teams participating in the mega tournament. A ‘boycott’ trend was again reignited and sparked a discussion about whether politics and sports can be kept apart. Fans took to social media platforms to express anger; some wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
