The 2023 edition of the Cricket World Cup is scheduled to kick off in India on October 5, but reports have appeared that fanatics of the sport may have to enjoy a marquee tournament without an opening ceremony.
Opening ceremonies are a common ritual for many sporting events, and the previous Cricket World Cup held in the subcontinent in 2011 had an extravaganza opening show in Bangladesh’s Dhaka. The 2011 tournament was co-hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
The first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is scheduled to be played between finalists of the 2019 World Cup England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
But Indian media reports indicate that the tournament’s organizers have no schedules to hold a splendid opening ceremony before that match’s play gets underway.
While there won’t be an opening ceremony to celebrate the opening of the marquee tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have organized a “Captains’ Day” event involving the captains of all 10 teams.
The event, scheduled to begin on Wednesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, will have the skippers do a photo shoot with the World Cup trophy along with a few media interactions.
Earlier this year in April, the BCCI had a tremendous ceremony to mark the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which had performances from several big celebrities.
And while organizers have not officially canceled an opening ceremony on Thursday, The Times of India cited a source as saying there were never any schedules to hold one for the 2023 World Cup.
The source cited by the newspaper said, “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.”
The event was scheduled to have started after the Captains’ Day event at the Narendra Modi Stadium and included fireworks and a laser show.
