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The cricket team from Pakistan landed in India on Wednesday under heavy security as it gets ready to compete in the next, seven-week World Cup. Pakistan is traveling to India for the first time since 2016, and as the team's captain Babar Azam and other players arrived at the airport in Hyderabad, large groups of enthusiastic fans shouted and chanted their names while being restrained by security agents. On October 5, the ODI competition is set to begin, and Pakistan will play their first match the following day.
Political difficulties between India and Pakistan have a long history; hence the two countries' international matches are mainly limited to regional and global competitions. However, Pakistan was given a warm welcome in India on Wednesday, and the players posted about it on their official social media account. Babar Azam, the team's captain, Shaheen Afridi, and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were among the players to congratulate the Indian officials and the audience on social media.
“Amazing reception from the people here. Everything was super smooth. Looking forward to the next 1.5 months,” Rizwan wrote on X.
Babar and Shaheen both shared Instagram posts on their experiences, with the Pakistani skipper writing that he is "overwhelmed" by the love and support in India and Shaheen, a powerful left-arm pacer, expressing his admiration for the welcome.
The World Cup will consist of 48 games played over 46 days at 10 different sites, with the championship game taking place on November 19. Pakistan will play two exhibition games, one on September 29 against New Zealand and the other on October 3 against Australia, both in Hyderabad. After evaluating the security measures for a significant festival that day, the game versus New Zealand will be played behind closed doors.
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