The Pakistan cricket team landed in India after 7 long years as they arrived here for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 which starts from October 5.
The 33-member contingent led by captain Babar Azam reached Hyderabad via Dubai on Wednesday night. There were hundreds of cricket fans present at the airport to see the star cricketers like Babar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, etc.
This is the first time these Pakistani stars have set foot in India. Barring Salman Agha and Mohammad Nawaz, the rest of the squad is visiting India for the first time in their lives.
The squad was heavily guarded by security officials who escorted them from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to the team hotel where they were greeted with a traditional welcome by the staff.
Netizens Go 'LoL' Over Bhagwa Gamchas
The hotel staff draped the players in embroidered scarves of different colours, but what caught the attention of the fans were the saffron ones on skipper Babar and some of the other players.
Netizens started taking to X (formerly Twitter) to have a good laugh at the expense of the Pakistani players who were draped in the saffron 'gamchas' at the hotel.
The saffron colour is not only present in the Indian flag but it is also the colour of ruling BJP and other Hindu right-wing parties.
Pakistan team schedule for ICC World Cup 2023
Pakistan last visited India for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2016 and will now prepare themselves to take back their second ODI World Cup title.
The Men in Green have already started practicing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal where they will play a couple of warm-up matches against New Zealand (September 29) and Australia (October 3) before starting their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on Oct 6.
They will then face Sri Lanka at the same venue on Oct 10 before going to Ahmedabad for the blockbuster clash against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Oct 14.
