New Delhi: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar expressed his displeasure with the International Cricket Council‘s (ICC) promotional video for the 2023 Cricket World Cup, which will be held in India from October to November, later this year.
ICC ignores Babar Azam in promotional video
Akhtar questioned the absence of Babar Azam in the promotional video posted on social media on July 20. Titled ‘It Only Takes One Day’, the video is a captivating montage of cricket moments and fan reactions and is voiced by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. His story encapsulates the emotions and sensations generated throughout the world’s greatest cricket tournament.
Read More: ‘All it takes just one day’: ICC gets Shahrukh Khan in ODI World Cup promotional campaign
ICC’s star-studded promotional video
The video has a star-studded cast of cricketers including Jemimah Rodrigues, Dinesh Karthik and Shubman Gill. It also features guest appearances by cricketing legends like captain of the World Cup 2019 winning England team, Eoin Morgan, South Africa’s Jonty Rhodes, Sri Lanka spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and many more.
The video captures iconic moments from the history of the World Cup, showing the national colors and waving flags of all ten participating teams. World number one batsman and Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam was not featured in the promotional video, while fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was there.
Images of previous World Cup winning teams were also included except Pakistan’s 1992 victory. Akhtar raised objections to the video and said the person who made the video has “presented himself as a joke.”
Akhtar takes on Twitter
The 47-year-old pacer tweeted, “Whoever thought that World Cup promo will be complete without Pakistan & Babar Azam‘s significant presence, has actually presented himself as a joke. Come on guys, time to grow up a bit.”
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will be hosted by India in the October-November window. The biggest tournament in cricket is returning to India after 12 years. Total ten team will be participating in the marquee event.
Whoever thought that World Cup promo will be complete without Pakistan & Babar Azam's significant presence, has actually presented himself as a joke.
Come on guys, time to grow up a bit.— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) July 22, 2023
World Cup 2023
The tournament begins with a match between previous series finalists England and New Zealand at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Pakistan who are hosting the Asia Cup at home and in Sri Lanka will open their campaign against the Netherlands in Hyderabad on October 6.
The marquee match between India and Pakistan will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 15.
