The opening match of the ICC World Cup 2023, dubbed as the world’s biggest cricket event of the year, was held in India today.

But when the inaugural contest — held at the globe’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad — finally began, only a few thousand seats in the stadium were occupied. The usual grand opening ceremony of the mega tournament was also missing.

According to the Times of India, a source familiar with the matter had confirmed that an opening ceremony was never planned for the World Cup.

The report quoted the source as saying: “In the case of the Indian Premier League, you can have a short opening ceremony as the match starts in the evening but here the match starts in the afternoon”.

The report also highlighted that the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India had already held a “Captains Day” event at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.

So when the England-New Zealand game commenced today, cricket fans took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to express their disappointment and astonishment at the empty seats glaring back at them.

“Where’s the crowd?” asked England women’s cricketer Danni Wyatt.

Cricket writer Daniel Brettig shared a visual from a 1996 World Cup match featuring the same teams, which took place in Ahmedabad and displayed a larger crowd.

Another user questioned whether India was even aware that the World Cup was starting.

Cricket fan Daniel Alexander shared visuals of empty seats from the stadium.

A cricket enthusiast highlighted a series of concerns, including the lack of an opening ceremony, frequent schedule changes, and alleged visa delays for participating teams.

He also questioned whether India was even a suitable venue to host such an event.

Another X user described the beginning of the event as the least favourable start to a mega event, remarking, “Even countries like England and Australia managed to create a more vibrant atmosphere in previous editions.”

A user singled out BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, claiming that he did not adequately ensure that even half of the stadium had an audience for the tournament’s opening match.

Manya, a cricket fan and writer from India, said building the biggest stadium in the world was not the same as being the world’s sports administrator.