The Pakistan cricket team received a rousing reception on their arrival in Hyderabad on Wednesday evening. After 7 long years, the men in green have come to India as they compete in the ICC World Cup 2023 which begins on October 5 in Ahmedabad. The squad had left Lahore in the wee hours of Wednesday via Dubai where it had a long nine-hour layover.
The video of the team’s arrival was shared on the YouTube channel of news agency ANI. The fans gathered in large numbers at the airport to have a glimpse of the Pakistani cricketers as most of them came to India for the first time to play the game.
Pakistan will play their opening warm-up game against New Zealand on September 29 before taking on Australia on October 3. They open their tournament campaign against the Netherlands here before battling with Sri Lanka on October 10. The Pakistan players had got their Indian visas less than 48 hours before their scheduled travel. Both India and Pakistan only face each other in Asia Cup and ICC events due to the tense relations between the two countries.
Only Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Ali Agha have visited India for cricket. Babar could not play in the T20 World Cup in India in 2016 due to an injury.
“The BCCI has assured the ICC that all teams will be provided the best security and will be well looked after so I don’t expect anything different for our team. I don’t think our team will face any issues in India," the head of PCB management committee Zaka Ashraf told reporters before the team’s departure.
Ahead of the team’s departure, Babar had spoken about his excitement over playing in India, especially Ahmedabad where the arch-rivals lock horns in front of a one lakh-plus crowd.
“Although we have not played in India before, we are not taking too much pressure. We have done our research and we have heard the conditions are similar to how they play out in other Asian countries," said Babar in the pre-departure media conference.
“I am excited to play in Ahmedabad as it will be jam-packed. I will try my best to perform up to my potential. I am not worried about my individual accolades, I want to make sure whatever I do helps the result for the team," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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