BCCI and broadcaster face backlash after India vs Pakistan pre-game ceremony not shown

The historic match was set to showcase pre-game entertainment from the likes of Arijit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, and Sunidhi Chauhan

Indian singer Shankar Mahadevan performs during the musical ceremony (REUTERS)

The BCCI and Cricket World Cup broadcaster in India have faced a backlash from fans after the pre-game ceremony for India vs Pakistan was not televised.

The highly-publicised show featured artists such as Arijit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, and Sunidhi Chauhan.

The enormous 2023 World Cup clash between the historic rivals was hosted at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium.

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But fans noticed something was wrong with the show scheduled to commence at 12:30 local time (8am BST) ahead of the toss in Ahmedabad.

Confusion led some viewers to consider a delay to the match, but Star Sports soon announced that the ceremony would not be broadcast and was exclusively for those inside the stadium.

Star Sports wrote on social media: “The ceremony at the Narendra Modi Stadium before Match 12 of ICC Men's CWC 2023 (India vs Pakistan) has been planned for in-stadia fans. The ceremony is not for broadcast.”

Cricket fans were left disappointed, with one bemoaning the situation: “Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse.”

“They sensed the backlash,” said another after the statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Why would you hype the “opening” ceremony if you weren’t gonna show it?”

“Shame on the BCCI,” said another, while one even cried for “a case study on how not to conduct a World Cup.”

There had been some criticism about an opening ceremony at all, given the tournament has already started.

Although there was no pre-game show before the tournament opener between England and New Zealand.

Both teams have enjoyed a good start to the 2023 World Cup before the mouthwatering clash in Ahmedabad. India defeated Ausralia by six wickets before easing past Afghanistan in Delhi.

Rohit Sharma broke Sachin Tendulkar's record for most centuries in ODI World Cups with his seventh coming up against Afghanistan.

While Pakistan chased down the highest run-chase in World Cup history (345) to beat Sri Lanka after a comfortable win over Netherlands.