The recent India vs Pakistan clash generated immense excitement among the fans present at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad as the two cricketing giants locked horns. India emerged victorious in the high-voltage clash with an emphatic seven-wickets win.
However, Pakistan's team coach Mickey Arthur did not look pleased with the result and expressed a sentiment that raised eyebrows. His post-match criticism of the management has led ICC to review his comments.
After Pakistan's defeat in the match, Arthur candidly admitted that the atmosphere in the stadium made it feel more like a "bilateral series" than an international cricket tournament. The reason behind his statement was the notable absence of Pakistani supporters in the crowd, which was dominated by a sea of blue colour donned by Indian fans.
"Look, I'd be lying if I said it did [not affect us]. It didn't seem like an ICC event, to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event," Arthur had said.
The dearth of Pakistani fans at the packed Narendra Modi Stadium was primarily attributed to visa issues, preventing them from travelling to the neighbouring country. Only a handful of Pakistani journalists were able to cover the match, and a limited number of Pakistani-origin fans who were residents or citizens of other countries attended.
In response to Arthur's criticism, ICC chairman Greg Barclay, while attending the International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, downplayed the remarks. He emphasised that criticisms are a common occurrence in major events, and the focus should be on improving future tournaments.
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"Things that perhaps we'll take away and try to work on, try to do better… so this event's only [at] the start. Let's see how the whole thing plays out, and we'll go away and review what could change, what we can do better, how we can improve World Cups and the general offering around cricket," Barclay stated.
Barclay remained optimistic about the ongoing World Cup, asserting that it would ultimately be remembered as an "outstanding" tournament. While the India vs Pakistan match broke records in terms of viewership, with a record crowd both at the stadium and globally, the official attendance figures had not been released.
Pakistan's ex-fast bowler Wasim Akram also took issue with the statements made by Arthur after Pakistan's defeat to India and suggested Pakistan coach to look past the blame-game.