ODI World Cup 2023 opening ceremony: The opening match of ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 will feature defending champions England facing last edition's runners-up, New Zealand, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (October 5). While there were some reports suggesting an opening ceremony might be held before the tournament, there has been no official confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the International Cricket Council (ICC). As of now, it appears that there won't be an opening ceremony preceding the start of the Cricket World Cup.
As per a report in the Times of India, an opening ceremony for ODI World Cup 2023 was never planned to be held.
"There was never an opening ceremony planned for the World Cup. I can confirm that," TOI quoted a source as saying. "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," explained the source.
As it seems like there won't be any official opening ceremony for ODI World Cup 2023, BCCI did organize a Captains' Day on the eve of the England vs. New Zealand ODI World Cup 2023 match. During the event, all 10 captains of teams participating in ODI World Cup 2023 were interviewed by former India head coach Ravi Shastri and former England captain Eoin Morgan.
When asked about the trend of the last three World Cups being won by hosting nations, India captain Rohit Sharma played down the significance of this factor.
"Not thinking too much about on 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.
"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," he added.