It appears the BCCI missed a trick by not having the hosts play the World Cup opener.

New Zealand rested regular captain Kane Williamson (knee) and fast bowler Tim Southee (thumb) to give them more time to recover from surgery.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this group," he added.

As the ICC World Cup begins in India today, fans can expect torrents of runs over the next month and a half.

India skipper, however, said he appreciates "what's at stake" but will not get bogged down by the weight of expectation on his team to win another World Cup title at home.

Morgan, who retired from international cricket last year, said white-ball captain Jos Buttler had not been given the same level of support in the build-up to this World Cup that England has had in the past.

When Mushfiqur Rahim hit the winning boundary to upset India in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbeans, people had already gotten a glimpse of the talents who would lead Bangladesh cricket in the coming years.

"We had heard a lot about Hyderabadi biryani and we loved it," Babar, currently the top-ranked ODI batter, said in his appreciation of the popular dish.

On Friday, after Mehedi Hasan Miraz came out for the toss for Bangladesh’s warm-up match against Sri Lanka in Guwahati, naturally the viewers started to wonder where Shakib Al Hasan was.

Defending champions England begin their ICC Cricket World Cup defence with a match against last edition's finalists New Zealand today at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world's largest cricket stadium, in Ahmedabad.

Defending champions England and New Zealand, the two finalists of a blockbuster 2019 World Cup, are having to deal with injury issues as they prepare to take the field in the 2023 World Cup opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad today.

All participants in the 2023 World Cup in India are well aware that in big events, teams tackle the conditions just as much as they play their opponents and the pressure posed by the competition.

As the 13th edition of the ICC ODI World Cup kicks off in Ahmedabad today, it is time we took a dive into what makes cricket so special to so many people around the world.

Four years after delivering the most memorable final in World Cup history, England and New Zealand will face off once again in cricket’s grandest stage in the opening match of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 today.

An important figure behind Sri Lanka’s emergence as a cricketing force in the world, Hashan Tilakaratne is someone who possesses vast knowledge about the game. The former Lankan captain, who was an integral part of the 1996 World Cup-winning Sri Lankan side, has been in charge of the Bangladesh women’s team since November 2022. During an exclusive interview with The Daily Star’s Abdullah Al Mehdi, the 56-year-old talked about the mindset and the relationship a coach needs to have with the cricketers, the recipe for success in the World Cup, and his expectations from the Tigers ahead of the mega event in India.  

There was a lot of scepticism surrounding the exclusion of an experienced Khaled Mashud Pilot in favour of a young wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim in Bangladesh’s 2007 World Cup squad. 

You reach a consensus, perhaps to the tune of “they will get blown away this year” or, at the other end of the spectrum, “they’re playing well, they might just conjure something”. And then the Tigers do the opposite.

When last the ODI World Cup was played in South Asia, in 2011, five of the top seven wicket-takers in that tournament were spin bowlers. In the recent Asia Cup, however, in which more matches were played in Colombo (a notoriously spin-friendly venue) than any other venue, five of the top seven wicket-takers were seam bowlers.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said Wednesday his team "was not expecting" the warm reception they have received in India, claiming "it's like we are at home".

England star Ben Stokes could miss the World Cup opener against New Zealand due to a hip injury with captain Jos Buttler admitting Wednesday "it's not the time to take risks".