The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and International Cricket Council (ICC), the hosts and the organizers of the Cricket World Cup 2023 will felicitate and honor all the World Cup-winning captains during the final between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. ICC released an itinerary of the closing night of the World Cup, revealing the four-part ceremony that will take place on the night.
There will be an air show performed by Indian Airforce, music performances led by Pritam, and a laser-light show too. During the mid-innings break, ICC will also honor the former WC-winning captains including the likes of MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Eoin Morgan, and Ricky Ponting. 1975 and 1979 winner Clive Lloyd will be present as well as 1987 winner Allan Border and 1999 champion Steve Waugh. Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka’s captain in 1996, will be present too. 2015 World Cup-winning skipper Michael Clarke will be among the stars.
The only World Cup-winning captain who will not be present at the Narendra Modi stadium will be Imran Khan of Pakistan. Imran led Pakistan to their first-ever title in 19992 in Australia. However, the legendary Imran is currently in jail. He is detained in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on judicial remand. Imran is also former Pakistan Prime Minister and leader of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Amid the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan politics, Imran finds himself in deep trouble with many charges put on him by the current government.
The rumors that BCCI and ICC have not invited Imran for the World Cup final are not true for the same reason. The invitation to Imran would have surely gone if he was not in jail.
Imran’s name is missing from ICC’s closing ceremony brochure which has all the other captain’s names and pictures on it. ICC could have decided to not include Imran in it due to the ongoing trial of him. In his absence, there is no other player from the 1992 World Cup-winning side has also been invited, according to the ICC statement. It will be interesting to see whether Ramiz Raja who was in India as part of the broadcast team would be attending the event representing Pakistan. Ramiz was part of the World Cup-winning side.
There will be huge cheer in the ground for former India captains Dhoni and Kapil. Dhoni led India to the World Cup title in 2011 at home while Kapil won the country its first World Cup in 1983 in England.
