Babar Azam And His Pakistan Teammates Blown Away By 'Love And Support' In Hyderabad

Babar Azam and his Pakistan teammates landed in India on Wednesday (September 27) for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. The Men in Green arrived in Hyderabad, the venue for their World Cup opener.

This is the first time since 2016 that Pakistan’s senior men’s team has arrived in India. With the bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan suspended for more than a decade now, most of the players in the current Pakistan team visited India for the first time. Going by their reaction on social media, one can say that they have loved the hospitality so far.

The Pakistan players were pleasantly surprised when they were making their way out of the airport as a big crowd of excited fans cheered them. A few fans were also heard chanting the names of Babar Azam and a few of his teammates after they arrived at the airport. The Pakistan players returned the favor soon by taking to their respective social media accounts and praising the warm welcome they received.

Babar Azam gets a warm welcome in Hyderabad. pic.twitter.com/AZBCLPToH8

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 27, 2023

Pakistan players praise warm welcome in India:

Three of Pakistan’s main players – captain Babar Azam, pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan – took to social media to thank the Indian authorities, as well as the crowd for the warm and grand welcome.

“Amazing reception from the people here. Everything was super smooth. Looking forward to the next 1.5 months,” Rizwan wrote on Instagram.

On the other hand, Babar Azam wrote that he was “overwhelmed” by the love and support in India, while Afridi was impressed with the welcome too.

The ODI World Cup is scheduled to be played from October 5 to November 19 as India gear up to host the tournament alone for the first time. The tournament will be played across 10 venues. Pakistan are scheduled to open their campaign on October 6 against the Netherlands in Hyderabad.

They will play their World Cup games in Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru. If Pakistan manages to qualify for the semifinal, the match is scheduled to be played in Kolkata.