On Thursday, the Cricket World Cup of this year is scheduled to start in India, but there may not be an opening ceremony, according to sources.
Such ceremonies are a standard part of many sporting events, and the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the most recent to be hosted in the subcontinent, had a magnificent opening ceremony in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2011, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India all shared hosting duties for the event.
At the Narendra Modi Stadium in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, England and New Zealand are scheduled to play in the first game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Thursday.
However, according to sources in Indian media, the tournament’s organizers do not intend to hold a formal opening ceremony prior to the start of that match.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have organized a “Captains’ Day” event with the participation of the captains of all 10 teams, even though the headline tournament may not have an official opening ceremony.
The captains will participate in a picture shoot with the World Cup trophy and some media interviews at the event, which will get underway on Wednesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The BCCI held a sizable celebration in April of this year to mark the beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which featured performances from various prominent Bollywood figures.
A source told The Times of India that there were never any plans to host an opening ceremony for the 2023 World Cup, despite the fact that the organizers haven’t publicly ruled it out.
“Since the IPL match begins in the evening, you can have a little opening ceremony. The match here begins in the afternoon, according to the source the publication cited.
According to some reports, the BCCI had initially planned an opening ceremony with a star-studded lineup in Ahmedabad on the night of the World Cup, but these plans were ultimately shelved.
According to speculations, well-known Bollywood stars including Ranveer Singh, Arijit Singh, Tamannaah Bhatia, Shreya Ghoshal, and Asha Bhosle would have attended the occasion.
The star-studded event, which featured pyrotechnics and a laser show, was scheduled to start following the Captains’ Day celebration at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The tournament’s opening match, between England and New Zealand, is a rematch of the final from the previous season in 2019. In the final, England overcame the Black Caps on a boundary count to win their first 50-Over World Cup under the leadership of Eoin Morgan.
