ODI World Cup 2023: 'Ghoomer' actress Saiyami Kher voices concern over almost empty stands at ENG vs NZ
Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag also spoke on the issue and said he hopes the crowd will come after office hours.
Last Updated: 04.21 PM, Oct 05, 2023
The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 tournament commenced with England taking on New Zealand in Match 1 on October 5 in the lively city of Ahmedabad, India. While games featuring the host nation, India, appear to be nearly sold out, the same level of excitement is not evident for other matches.
This disparity became particularly noticeable due to the relatively low attendance at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Various factors could contribute to this, including fans citing high ticket prices, booking issues, and the fact that the opening match is taking place on a weekday, possibly preventing people from attending until after work hours.
Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag also spoke about the same and said, "Hopefully after office hours, there should be more people coming in. But for games not featuring Bharat, there should be free tickets for school and college children. With the fading interest in 50 over game, it will definitely help that youngsters get to experience a World Cup game and players get to play in front of a full stadium. #CWC23"
Actress Saiyami Kher has expressed her concerns about the sparse crowds as well. Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), the 'Ghoomar' actress wrote, "Very disheartening to see this turnout for the opener of the World Cup. Is this end of ODI cricket?"
Regarding the match itself, New Zealand's stand-in captain, Tom Latham, won the toss and elected to bowl first. As anticipated, Kane Williamson is sitting out for the Kiwis, while England is without Ben Stokes.
At the time of writing this article, 32 overs had been completed, and England had managed to score 187 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. A solid partnership had been formed between Joe Root (80) and Jos Buttler (43).