Is The ICC World Cup 2023 Opening Ceremony Cancelled? Here's The Scoop

The 2023 ODI World Cup is set to kick off without an opening ceremony, according to sources. This decision is in contrast to the 2011 ODI World Cup held in the sub-continent, which featured a grand opening ceremony in Dhaka.

The ICC and the BCCI have instead scheduled a 'Captains' Day' event, which will include a photo-op and press conference involving all 10 team captains. This event will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium the day before the tournament's opening match between England and New Zealand at the same venue. However, there will be no formal ceremony to mark the start of the mega tournament.

A reliable source confirmed, "There was never an opening ceremony planned for the World Cup. I can confirm that." In April, the BCCI organised a lavish opening ceremony for the IPL , which saw the presence of several Bollywood stars. The source explained, "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."

The absence of an opening ceremony has resulted in relatively little buzz in the host city and at the Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of the first game of the World Cup. This could be attributed, in part, to the fact that the opening match does not involve India . However, excitement is expected to reach a fever pitch when India faces Pakistan on October 14, in what is undoubtedly the most anticipated clash of the tournament.

In a positive development for cricket fans in Mumbai, it has been revealed that an additional 9,000 tickets will soon be made available for sale on 'BookMyShow.com,' the official ticketing platform for the World Cup matches at the Wankhede Stadium .

Sources indicate that the Mumbai Cricket Association has made this decision in response to instructions from top officials of the BCCI and the International Cricket Council . The Wankhede Stadium is slated to host five matches during the mega tournament, including the India versus Sri Lanka clash on November 2 and the first semi-final on November 15.

This move follows the BCCI's earlier announcement on September 6 to release an additional 4 lakh tickets to meet the high demand for World Cup matches, addressing concerns about the limited availability of tickets for the public.