MUMBAI
\nThe International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Greg Barclay still confident of the success of ongoing Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup 2023, expecting India to stage an \u201coutstanding\u201d event despite concerns over the size and composition of crowds in the early stages of the tournament.
\nPakistan team director Mickey Arthur took aim at the ICC for a lack of support for his side in their showpiece match against arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad\u2019s 132,000 capacity stadium on Saturday.
\nThe South African said the game had looked more like a \u201cBCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) event\u201d than a major international cricket fixture.
\n\u201cEvery event we have, there are always criticisms from various quarters, things that we will take away and try to work on, try to do better,\u201d Barclay said in answer to a question from AFP in Mumbai on Monday.
\nThe BCCI \u2014 the global game\u2019s financial powerhouse \u2014 had already been criticised for a delay in announcing the World Cup fixture list until three months before the tournament began.
\nThe schedule was suddenly overhauled a few weeks after it was first published with the dates of some of the biggest matches changed.
\nFans have meanwhile complained about online ticketing crashes, and matches not featuring the hosts have been sparsely attended.
\nPakistan fans were effectively banned from the Ahmedabad ground after failing to secure visas to cross the border, leaving the arena awash with the blue shirts of India supporters as the hosts coasted to a seven-wicket victory.
\nBut Barclay, speaking in Mumbai after the International Olympic Committee voted to include Twenty20 cricket in the programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, defended the organisation of the World Cup.
\n\u201cThis event has only just started, let\u2019s just see how the whole thing plays out. Then we will review what we could change, how we can improve World Cups and the general offering around cricket,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI\u2019m satisfied that it will be an outstanding World Cup.\u201d
\nIn Ahmedabad, Pakistan were backed only by a handful of expatriate fans who had made the trip from the United States and United Kingdom.
\n\u201cIt didn\u2019t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest,\u201d Arthur said afterwards
\n\u201cIt seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event.\u201d
\nArthur also accused the public address system organisers of favouring India by refusing to play \u201cDil Dil Pakistan\u201d, the nation\u2019s unofficial anthem.
\n\u201cSo yes, that does play a role, but I\u2019m not going to use that as an excuse,\u201d Arthur added.
\nSince the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, India and Pakistan have not played a full bilateral series, with New Delhi and Islamabad still involved in a bitter diplomatic dispute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MUMBAI The International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Greg Barclay still confident of the success of ongoing Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup 2023, expecting India to stage an \u201coutstanding\u201d event despite concerns over the size and composition of crowds in the early stages of the tournament. Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur took aim at the ICC for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-362121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n