Pakistan and Nepal are engaged in the Asia Cup 2023 opening clash at Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, August 2023. However, unlike opening games in other cricket tournaments, the Asia Cup opener saw empty stands in Multan which caused cricket fans to lament the host Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on social media.
The tournament of Asia Cup stature remains one of the world's most popular multi-team tournaments but the scenes at Multan were not pleasing. Pakistan recently gained the top spot in ICC ODI teams rankings after thrashing Afghanistan 3-0 but there was a considerable lack of support from the Pakistani fans for the opening match. Notably, Multan is scheduled to host the tournament's only opening game, and organisers were reportedly expecting the packed stands at 30,000 capacity stadium.
PCB also organised an opening ceremony to entertain fans with popular singers Aima Baig and Nepal's Trishala Gurung in the present but that didn't help PCB to fill the empty stands. Pakistan have the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi who are tipped as crowd-pulling popular figures in Pakistan but it was clear that the fans were not interested in witnessing the opening game from the stadium. Many fans criticised the PCB for failing to attract a crowd for the opening match and also questioned their plans to organize the remainder of the games in Asia Cup 2023 matches.
Pakistan were originally scheduled to host the entire Asia Cup 2023 but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send their team to Pakistan due to obvious security reasons and also requested Asia Cricket Council for a neutral venue for the tournament.
After tons of meetings and negotiations, all the participants agreed on the proposed hybrid model with Sri Lanka coming on as a co-host. Pakistan's Multan is hosting the opening game and Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium will be hosting three matches. Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is hosting the high-voltage India vs Pakistan game on September 2 while Colombo's R Premdasa Stadium host the final on September 17.
