HYDERABAD: Recently, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) decided to hold the 2023 ODI World Cup warm-up match between Pakistan and New Zealand, to be played on Friday, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad behind closed doors due to security concerns.
Apparently taking a cue from it, the host association, Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), on Thursday came up with a bizarre decision to ban the media from Pakistan's first practice session at the venue on Thursday morning. Interestingly, a few media persons were in fact given an entry to attend Pakistan's optional net session only to be asked to leave the venue within minutes.
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The Pakistan cricket team led by ace batter Babar Azam reached the venue early in the morning amidst tight security. Interestingly, when they reached the venue, the bus they were traveling in had a piece of paper pasted on its front windshield with 'ICC World Cup team Pakistan' written on it. It was also there when the team was escorted to a hotel in Hyderabad from the airport on Wednesday night. However, later the paper was removed.
On the other hand, the bus that ferried New Zealand players had the paper on the front windshield reading 'Welcome ICC World Cup team New Zealand. A few players from New Zealand too had a net session at the venue on Thursday morning. Earlier, around 10 players from the Pakistan team had a warm-up session and fielding drills at the main venue for around half an hour before shifting to the nets outside it. It should be noted that the 33-member contingent including 18 cricketers and 15 officials and support staff from Pakistan boarded a flight from Lahore at 3:30 am on Tuesday night and had almost a nine-hour layover at Dubai before flying out for Hyderabad.
Despite arriving quite late in the city on Wednesday night, the players reportedly had an intense session in the nets. They trained at the facility for almost one-and-a-half-hour before returning to the team hotel. The traffic on one side of the road leading to the venue was halted completely when the teams were leaving the stadium.
It should be noted that the Pakistan team is visiting India for the first time since they played in the T20 World Cup here in 2016. Among the current members of the team, only Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Ali Agha had previously visited India with the former being in the squad for the 2016 tournament.
Pakistan will play their second warm-up match against Australia on October 3 before taking on the Netherlands in their first World Cup game three days later. They will also play Sri Lanka in the city on October 10 before flying out for Ahmedabad to meet arch-rivals and hosts India on October 14.
Citing the festive season, the BCCI had decided not to have spectators for the first warm-up match. Making up for the decision, it also said those who bought the tickets would receive a full refund. The HCA, however, showed no such gesture to the journalists as none of the authorities present at the venue could come up with a logical explanation when questioned regarding the decision.