“Time to grow up a bit,” Shoaib Akhtar slams ICC for leaving Babar Azam out of ODI World Cup 2023 promo video

Akhtar questioned the absence of Babar Azam in the promotional video which was unveiled on July 20.

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has expressed his disappointment over the International Cricket Council's (ICC) promotional video for the ODI World Cup 2023, which will be played in India later this year.

Akhtar questioned the absence of Babar Azam in the promotional video which was unveiled on July 20, featuring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

The video titled 'It Only Takes One Day' is a tribute to the fans and players, summarising iconic moments from World Cup history.

The video includes a star-studded line-up of cricketers, including Jemimah Rodrigues, Dinesh Karthik, and Shubman Gill among others. It also features legendary names such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Jonty Rhodes and Eoin Morgan.

Babar Azam, Pakistan’s all-format captain and the numero uno ODI batter, was not part of the promotional video while left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi made an appearance.

Visuals of teams winning the World Cup in the past also featured in the promotional video but Pakistan's 1992 triumph didn’t make the cut.

Taking to Twitter, Akhtar on Saturday (July 22) wrote: "Whoever thought that World Cup promo will be complete without Pakistan & Babar Azam's significant presence, has actually presented himself as a joke. Come on guys, time to grow up a bit."

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is slated to get underway on October 5 with the England versus New Zealand clash in Ahmedabad.

Pakistan will begin their campaign against the Netherlands in Hyderabad on October 6.