'Cheap editing': 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup poster faces online criticism

The International Cricket Council (ICC)’s official poster for the 2023 Men’s World Cup has triggered an online debate, with a section of fans questioning its aesthetics. The poster released last month features the captains of all ten teams taking part in the tournament, which will kick off on October 5.

In the poster, Australia captain Pat Cummins, Pakistan captain Babar Azam, South Africa’s Temba Bavuma, India’s Rohit Sharma, Afghanistan’s captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka, New Zealand’s Tom Latham, Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal, England’s captain, Jos Buttler, and Netherlands’ Scott Edwards are seen posing with the World Cup trophy with Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in the background.

The poster, shared on July 11, failed to impress a large section of cricket enthusiasts on social media. While some called it a display of “cheap editing”, others admonished what they called the use of artificial intelligence.

“Sad to learn that accounts associated with Sports are using AI, instead of real pics,” a user wrote.

“We went from getting the WC schedule 13 months in advance to getting last-minute changes in a schedule that got announced 2 months before. No theme song, no hype. The captains' posters went from this to this. You can't name a bigger downgrade,” a person wrote comparing the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 poster with a group photo of the team captains taken last year.

A user stated, “Looks like they were almost making last year's finalists New Zealand out of the photo frame”.

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