Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium likely to host ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opening ceremony - Reports

England will take on New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opener in Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi cricket stadium is likely to witness a dazzling evening on October 4 as India’s newest cricket ground is set to host the opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Ahmedabad will be opening the World Cup campaign as well on October 5, when defending champions England will take on 2019 runners-up New Zealand. The official announcement is yet to be made as Ahmedabad gets ready to host the three big games in the mega event. Along with the World Cup opener, Narendra Modi Stadium will host India vs Pakistan on October 14 and the grand finale on November 19.

Details yet to come

The final details about the ICC Cricket World Cup opening ceremony are yet to come, but it looks almost certain that the venue for the ceremony will be Ahmedabad, as the city will set the tone for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The members of the ICC executive board as well as the representatives of the BCCI will also be present to witness the extravaganza in Ahmedabad. The ICC will organise a formal briefing session for the captain and name it ‘Captains Day’ on October 4. The opening ceremony will see cultural and traditional symbolic events along with the introduction of the captain and the team.

The last time India hosted the World Cup along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the opening ceremony was held in Dhaka, as the city was going to host the event opener between India and Bangladesh. Dhaka’s opening ceremony is still fresh in everyone’s memory, as the captains were introduced in a unique traditional way of the Indian subcontinent. The captains made their entry with a three-wheeler cycle-rickshaw ride on the ground. A lot of local touch and flavour was infused into the event, similarly, we can expect a delightful evening in Ahmedabad.

This will be the first time India will be hosting cricket’s mega event single-handedly. Earlier, they hosted the World Cup in 1987 along with Pakistan, in 1996 along with Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and then in 2011 along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This time the tournament will be played across India in 12 different venues, with 2 venues reserved for only warm-up games and 10 hosting main event games. Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Dharamshala, and Pune will host league-round matches. Guwahati and Trivandrum are to host only warm-up games.

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