The World Cup 2023 warm-up match between Pakistan and New Zealand will take place in an empty stadium. This decision comes as Indian police failed to arrange adequate security measures for large crowds. The Hyderabad police cited their inability to provide security due to concurrent religious festivals in the city. As a result, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) canceled crowd attendance and announced refunds for ticket holders four days later.
Security concerns and the clash with religious festivals have also led to a rescheduling of Pakistan’s match against India, moving it forward from October 15 to October 14. Additionally, Pakistan’s departure to India faced delays due to visa-related issues, impacting their training schedule. Pakistan will kick off its World Cup campaign with a match against the Netherlands on October 6.
India and Pakistan, marked by longstanding political tensions, only compete against each other in international cricket tournaments. Babar Azam’s team will face New Zealand in Hyderabad, a city expecting large crowds for a Hindu festival, on Friday.
The 50-over World Cup tournament will commence on October 5 in Ahmedabad, with the highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash set to take place on October 14. Notably, this visit by the Pakistan team to India is their first since the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup. Visas for the Pakistani team were reportedly issued just 48 hours before their scheduled departure, as reported by Indian and Pakistani media.
