AHMEDABAD: It is the opening day of the Cricket World Cup in the world's most populous country. However, the officials were in for some bitter reality as Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium remained nearly empty during the whole game between England and New Zealand. This has also triggered big discussions in social media where some opined about the sport of cricket losing its fervor within people while some others criticized the location Ahmedabad and termed it “ not as a cricket-loving place”.

BJP workers distributed match tickets free of charge to around 30,000 - 40,000 women across Ahmedabad, but the attempt went in vain as the Narendra Modi Stadium remained empty while defending champions England faced New Zealand in the opening game.

Minding the empty stadium and the lack of support shown towards the game, Indian cricket legend Virender Sehwag came up with a suggestion to fill the stadiums during non-Indian matches. According to Sehwag, free tickets should be given not to elder women but school going students and college students.

Hopefully after office hours, there should be more people coming in. But for games not featuring Bharat, there should be free tickets for school and college children. With the fading interest in 50 over game, it will definitely help that youngsters get to experience a World Cup…

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 5, 2023