Babar Azam applauds warm reception upon arrival in India for World Cup

This is the first time in seven years that the Pakistan Cricket team has arrived in India

The Pakistan Cricket team arrived in India on 27 September ahead of the ICC Men's World Cup 2023.

This marks the first time in seven years that the Pakistan Cricket team has visited India. The team landed in Hyderabad amidst stringent security measures at the airport.

Upon their arrival, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam expressed being "overwhelmed" by the love and support he and his team received. Taking to Instagram, the skipper wrote, "Overwhelmed with the love and support here in Hyderabad."

Earlier in the day, Shaheen Shah Afridi also spoke about the warm reception the team received upon their arrival in Hyderabad.

In a recent press conference before departing for India, Babar articulated that his team aspires to win the title in India, rather than merely finishing in the top four. Babar noted, "The top four is a small goal for us. We aim to emerge as winners. We did not have sufficient time to organise a training camp before the World Cup because we had been playing continuously for an extended period. We wanted to give the players a break so they could return refreshed and with a hunger to win. Players perform well when they have that hunger."

Pakistan Cricket, the official account of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), shared a video and posted on X (formerly Twitter), "A warm welcome in Hyderabad as we land on Indian shores."

The World Cup is scheduled from 5 October to 19 November in India. Ahead of the 2023 World Cup, Pakistan will play a warm-up match against New Zealand on 29 September in Hyderabad, to be conducted behind closed doors. They will commence their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on 6 October at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

According to reports, the Pakistan team has requested the stadium caterers to include steamed Basmati rice, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, and vegetarian pulao in their daily carbohydrate intake. On cheat days, the team may be served Hyderabadi Biryani.