The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is all set to begin with England taking New Zealand. The defending champions England will be meeting the runners-up from last year New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Thursday. There has been a social media buzz about the opening ceremony of the same but as per a report in the Times of India, nothing sort of that was ever planned.

World Cup opening ceremony

There have been reports of the opening ceremony of the World Cup ahead of the start of the tournament but nothing official has been disclosed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India of the International Cricket Council. The Times of India quoted a source saying, “There was never an opening ceremony planned for the World Cup. I can confirm that.” The source further added, “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.”

Rohit on India’s chances

However, the BCCI held the Captains’ Day on the eve of the World Cup curtain raiser. In the event, all of the 10 captains participated where Ravi Shastri and Eoin Morgan spoke to them in detail about the much-anticipated event. When Rohit Sharma was asked about India’s chances of winning the Cup as the last three World Cups were won by one of the hosting nations, he chose to downplay. “Not thinking too much about that stuff but yeah in last 3 editions hosting teams won the World Cups and we will give our everything in this World Cup and enjoy the tournament,” Rohit said in the World Cup 2023 Captain’s Day event.

He also opined, “People are going to love this tournament. The stadiums will be jam-packed. Indians love their cricket. It is going to be a great tournament.” The toss of the opening match of the World Cup will start at 1:30 PM IST with the play scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM.