At the Gandhi Ashram, the city’s most visited tourist attraction, the morning is windy. The Sabarmati River’s banks are the site of the Indian freedom movement’s epicenter, which is visited by about 100 tourists.
The center of Indian cricket today is just a few kilometers away; it is the largest cricket stadium in the world, named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the 2023 World Cup will start and end on November 19.
Numerous people will go to the impressive site, many of whom will stop to have Bapu’s darshan on their way to their cricketing pilgrimage, beginning on Thursday when the defending champion England takes on New Zealand in the opening match.
Neither the Ashram Road nor the other major thoroughfares of the city have extensive World Cup signage or hoardings advertising fan parks. All that was present was a big model of the trophy at the airport. Ahmedabad is cloaked in a cozy pre-tournament hush rather than yelling from the rooftops.
If there is any conversation on the streets, it still revolves on the tickets for the India-Pakistan game. A few people have gathered outside the stadium to check for shady touts. “2000 rupees for 32,000,” one supporter remarks. Someone else responds, “I heard it was a lakh!”
Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian team, was questioned about Pakistan, the elusive ICC trophy, and the strain of playing at home. Rohit, the captain who was seated closest to the trophy that was on display, would pause, nod his head, smile, and even as light laughter started to spread throughout the room, he would say, “I know what’s at stake.
“Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, sat next to Rohit. At one time, he was expected to miss the competition owing to a serious knee injury he sustained in the IPL. Despite missing the opening game against England, the team who beat his squad the last time, he has made a fantastic recovery and will soon begin contributing.
Ironically, England, which had a negative attitude toward ODIs less than 10 years ago, has been revitalized by Ben Stokes, a New Zealander by birth, and Eoin Morgan, an Irishman who was there in Ahmedabad today.
The Kiwi-heads consistently make it to the final; for some reason, they appear to have cracked the ICC code. The England ODI captain, Jos Buttler, on the other hand, used the phrase “every team starts equally” with caution.
Every captain repeated the advice to focus on one game at a time. When asked about how bowling is their strength by Ravi Shastri, the Indian cricket event’s DJ for ever and a day, the Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi made the most audacious answer. “Our spinners are good, but in this world cup, our batting will make a strong statement.”
In the midst of a beard feast all around them, Pat Cummins, one of the two clean-shaven captains, was seated next to the Afghan and turned to nod.
