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Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has slammed the Indian cricket board for their poor management in the ongoing ICC World Cup.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the world's richest and the most powerful cricket board, has come under heavy criticism from foreign media due to lack of crowds at the stadiums.
Barely 20,000 people turned up for the opening match between England and New Zealand at the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Scores of cricket fans and journalists also slammed the BCCI on social media for lack of transparency over ticket allocation for World Cup matches.
Having failed to get tickets online, fans were shocked to see the empty stands in the stadiums.
"So where have the tickets vanished? Have they gone to the touts via the BCCI hoping people will buy them at astronomical prices. That ploy didn’t work as the empty stands tell a different story," one disgruntled Indian cricket fan wrote on Facebook.
"This is one mystery which is unlikely to be solved. Meanwhile the sufferers will be genuine sports enthusiasts. Sad greed takes you to the nadir!"
But it's not just the empty stands that have left the Indian board red faced.
Even the poor outfield at the Dharamshala cricket stadium has raised concerns about players' safety with England captain Jos Buttler calling it unfit for a tournament as big as the World Cup.
Now it's Hafeez, one of Pakistan's finest one-day players, who criticised the Indian cricket board during a panel discussion on a Pakistani TV channel.
"In these four days of the World Cup, I have seen poor management and poor planning from the organisers. The other thing, I have noticed is that the response of the crowd hasn’t been great," Hafeez said.
“When you host a global tournament, you need to broaden your mindset and think globally. With a narrow mindset, you can never take big decisions,” added the former all-rounder in what was an apparent jibe at the Indian authorities over the visa controversy.
Cricket fans and media in Pakistan are still waiting for their visas to attend World Cup matches in India.
Despite receiving their media accreditations from the ICC, the Pakistani media contingent is still facing visa issues.
Zaka Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, asked Pakistan foreign secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi to take up the matter with the Indian government.
“The PCB is extremely disappointed to see that journalists from Pakistan and fans are still facing uncertainty about obtaining an Indian visa,” it said in a statement.
The Pakistan team also faced visa issues with their World Cup squad receiving their visas just 36 hours before their departure to Hyderabad.
India and Pakistan, the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours, don't play bilateral cricket matches any more due to the political tensions.
The two cricket-obsessed nations only clash in ICC events and the Asia Cup.
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