ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Women get free tickets, coupons, complimentary lunch to watch ENG vs NZ match 

ICC Men's Cricket World Cup news: Around 30,000-40,000 women from Ahmedabad will be able to watch the England vs New Zealand (ENG vs NZ) match on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat's Ahmedabad. Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are urging women to pack the stands at the first World Cup 2023 match by distributing free tickets and assuring complimentary tea and lunch, The Indian Express reported.

BJP vice-president of the Bodakdev area Lalit Wadhawan told the publication that the idea to bring women to the match was inspired by the passing of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Parliament in September this year. He also claimed that they have got these tickets from the top leadership.

“Around 30,000 to 40,000 women from Ahmedabad will be watching the game in the stadium tomorrow. Our volunteers have been asked to send the names and tickets were handed to them today. Kya hai na, 33 per cent women reservation Bill bhi pass hua hai (See, even the 33 per cent women’s reservation Bill has been passed). These women will be reaching the stadium on their own and will be given tea and food coupons,” he said.

Commenting on whether the party made special efforts to mobilise women for the opening World Cup 2023 clash, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas said, "We have not made any effort at the party level for anything like that. If they (women) go in large numbers, fine. But the party is not making any special effort for that."

Process of mobilising women to attend the ENG vs NZ match began in Ahmedabad a couple of days ago when BJP ward members asked their workers in a WhatsApp message to list names of women from societies, apartments and their booth areas interested in watching the tournament.

The message asked workers to send names and mobile numbers of women to the assigned local leader. “The passes will be valid only for women, who will be provided two tokens for tea, one for breakfast and one for a food packet. The workers had sent all the names by 5 pm Monday,” the message read.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) is making serious efforts to make the England vs New Zealand match a pleasant experience for cricket fans. Fans will get free water at the stadium as announced earlier by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), GCA secretary Anil Patel told news agency PTI.

The GCA has also created half a dozen medical kiosks with six mini ICUs inside the Narendra Modi Stadium for any emergency. Around 3,000 police personnel and 600 members of private security will be deployed at the stadium and the adjoining perimeter during the opening match today.

The stadium will also have a special seating section for cricket fans that are terminally ill. 20 kids, who are suffering from cancer, will watch the contest with their doctors, informed Patel.  The doctors will accompany them and will be placed in a special area that is not accessible to the public in order to prevent exposure, he added.

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