Pakistan’s former pacer Shoaib Akhtar expressed his disappointment at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not including skipper Babar Azam — who is currently the number one ODI batter — in the World Cup 2023 promo. 

Akhtar spoke about the World Cup promo controversy which is the talk of the town since its release. 

“Whoever thought that World Cup promo will be completed without Pakistan & Babar Azam’s significant presence, has actually presented himself as a joke. Come on guys, time to grow up a bit,” he wrote on Twitter.

The ICC released World Cup 2023’s promo earlier this week, featuring Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan in the lead role.

Cricket fans from across the world criticised ICC for ignoring Azam in the promo despite being the number one ODI batter.

The cricket fraternity also felt that the promo revolves more around the Indian cricket team just because the event will be hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

A lot of people termed the ICC world cup promo as the “BCCI promo” or “India national cricket team’s (ICT) promo”.

Many others also pointed out the exclusion of the Pakistani flag in the video.

Ten teams will fight for the elusive title across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final.

Here is Pakistan’s schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023:

October 6 — vs Qualifier 1 in Hyderabad

October 12 — vs Qualifier 2 in Hyderabad

October 15 — vs India in Ahmedabad

October 20 — vs Australia in Bengaluru

October 23 — vs Afghanistan in Chennai

October 27 — vs South Africa in Chennai

October 31 — vs Bangladesh in Kolkata

November 4 — vs New Zealand Bengaluru

November 12 — vs England in Kolkata