International Cricket Council head confident of ‘outstanding’ World Cup, despite crowd concerns

MUMBAI – International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay expects India to stage an “outstanding” Cricket World Cup despite concerns over the size and composition of crowds in the early stages.

Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur took aim at the ICC for a lack of support for his side in their showpiece match against arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad’s 132,000-capacity stadium on Saturday.

The South African said the game had looked more like a “BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) event” than a major international cricket fixture.

“Every event we have, there are always criticisms from various quarters, things that we will take away and try to work on, try to do better,” Barclay said in answer to a question from AFP in Mumbai on Monday.

The BCCI – the game’s financial powerhouse – was already criticised for a delay in announcing the World Cup fixture list until three months before the tournament.

The schedule was suddenly overhauled a few weeks after it was first published, with the dates of some of the biggest matches changed.

Fans have meanwhile complained about online ticketing crashes, and matches not featuring the hosts being sparsely attended.

India great Virender Sehwag had said organisers should offer free tickets to children to fill up seats in matches not involving the hosts, after seeing empty stands during Oct 5’s opener between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

The Black Caps crushed champions England by nine wickets in a game that eventually drew 47,518 fans in the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium.

Former India batsman Sehwag posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “For games not featuring Bharat (India), there should be free tickets for school and college children. With the fading interest in 50-over games, it will definitely help that youngsters get to experience a World Cup game and players get to play in front of a full stadium.”

Pakistan fans were effectively banned from the Ahmedabad ground after failing to secure visas to cross the border, leaving the arena awash with the blue shirts of India supporters as the hosts coasted to a seven-wicket victory.

But Barclay, speaking in Mumbai after the International Olympic Committee voted to include Twenty20 cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, defended the organisation of the World Cup.

“This event has only just started, let’s just see how the whole thing plays out,” he said.

“Then we will review what we could change, how we can improve World Cups and the general offering around cricket. I’m satisfied that it will be an outstanding World Cup.”

In Ahmedabad, Pakistan were backed only by a handful of expatriate fans who had made the trip from the United States and United Kingdom.

“It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest,” Arthur said afterwards. “It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event.”

Arthur also accused the organisers of favouring India by refusing to play Dil Dil Pakistan, the nation’s unofficial anthem, over the public address system.

“So yes, that does play a role, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse,” Arthur added.

Pakistan coach Grant Bradburn said: “We are really sad that our supporters aren’t here, they would love to be here and I am sure Indian cricket fans would love our supporters here as well. It was certainly unusual in that way, no familiar music for us today.

“So it did not feel like a World Cup game, honestly. We didn’t expect anything else. We love the occasion and we are disappointed that we did not do justice to the occasion or justice to our many fans at home and globally.”

Since the 2008 attacks on Mumbai by Pakistani militants, the two sides have not played a full bilateral series, with New Delhi and Islamabad still involved in a bitter diplomatic dispute. AFP, REUTERS