Chaos makes way for cricket as ODI World Cup warm-up matches begin

The chaotic build-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup will finally settle down on Friday when the countdown to the main tournament begins with a bunch of warm-up matches.

It has been a rather subdued lead-up to the 50-over tournament, mainly due to the inordinate delays in announcing the schedule, finalising venues, sale of match tickets and even squad announcements. But, finally, game itselfcan finally take centre stage.

Pakistan v New Zealand, Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan v South Africa mark the beginning of the World Cup, bringing with it its own sense of disquiet.

Pakistan were up until recently the top-ranked ODI team in the world. Then, they failed to make it to the final of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, lost badly to India and also witnessed their star pacer Naseem Shah aggravate a shoulder injury that was woefully miss-managed.

Suddenly, there were murmurs of wholesale changes to the team and even the leadership. But in the end, the management retained the personnel utilised throughout this year.

On Wednesday, Babar Azam led a Pakistan cricket contingent on to Indian soil for the first time in seven years, highlighting the significance of the occasion and also the misfortune of fans on both sides of the border given the paucity of such interactions.

The adulation Pakistan received upon arriving in Hyderabad, where they will play the warm-up games and also their first two World Cup matches, will unfortunately be missed when they take on the Kiwis on Friday as the local government could not provide adequate security owing to festivities, forcing the match behind closed doors.

Diving into the training session in Hyderabad with a purpose