In preparation for the ICC World Cup 2023, the Pakistan Cricket squad, captained by Babar Azam, landed in India on September 27. Pakistan’s Cricket World Cup squad arrives in India after seven years, as India will be the host for the upcoming tournament. Pakistan toured India last time in 2016 when they came for the World T20 tournament. The grand festival of cricket will be starting on October 5 and ending on November 19.

The squad was welcomed with open arms at Hyderabad airport upon arrival. As the Pakistanis arrived at Hyderabad International Airport in the southern metropolis, excited fans were repressed by police as they celebrated and yelled the name of the team captain, Babar Azam. Captain Babar Azam praised the efforts and said, “Overwhelmed with the love, support here in Hyderabad.” via his Instagram story.

Other Pakistani players have also posted about their grand welcome to the City of Nawabs. Wicket-keeper Muhammad Rizwan posted, “Amazing reception from the people here. Everything was super smooth. Looking forward to the next 1.5 months.” While star pacer Shaheen Afridi also posted a story praising their grand entry. Even before their arrival, the ‘Men in Green’ Captain Babar stated that winning the World Cup is their major goal, and not just making the top four. 

Another bit of information surfaced concurrently with the arrival of the players. Before the ICC World Cup 2023, Pakistani YouTubers refused to apply for visas to India. Social media sources claim that the YouTubers Nadir Ali, Momin Saqib, Saadur Rehman aka “Ducky Bhai,” and an Indian TikToker living in the UAE by the name of “Love Khaani,” who poses as a Pakistani, not received visas for the massive event. 

In reply to these whispers, Duck Bhai said, “There have been some rumours regarding my application for an Indian Visa for the World Cup, and it got rejected.”. He claimed this to be fake news. Along with him, meme sensation, Momin Saqib also claimed his Visa rejection news to be a rumour and requested people not to trust undependable sources.