Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur’s comment on the atmosphere at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during the India-Pakistan World Cup match has triggered a massive outrage on social media.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday (October 16) responded to Arthur’s remarks, stating that the apex body will take note of how they can improve the arrangements in future editions.

After Pakistan’s seven-wicket thrashing in Ahmedabad, Arthur complained about the partisan crowd and no Pakistani music being played at the venue. He went on to say that it felt like a bilateral series game organized by BCCI rather than an ICC event.

“Look, I’d be lying if I said it did [not affect us],” Arthur said after the match. “It didn’t seem like an ICC event, to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; like a BCCI event.”

Reacting to Arthur’s statement, ICC chairman Greg Barclay downplayed it as mere flak that every World Cup edition faces.

“Every event that we have, there are always criticisms from various quarters,” Barclay was quoted as saying by AFP on the sidelines of the International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai.

“Things that perhaps we’ll take away and try to work on, try to do better… so this event’s only [at] the start. Let’s see how the whole thing plays out and we’ll go away and we’ll review what could change, what we can do better, how we can improve World Cups and the general offering around cricket.

“We will just take it as it plays out, get to the end of the event. I’m satisfied that it will still be an outstanding World Cup,” he added.

After losing to India, Pakistan head coach Grand Bradburn had also said that it did not feel like a World Cup game.

“We are really sad that our supporters aren’t here, they would love to be here and I am sure Indian cricket fans would love our supporters here as well. It was certainly unusual in that way, no familiar music for us today,” Bradburn said.

“So, it did not feel like a World Cup game, honestly. We didn’t expect anything else. We love the occasion and we are disappointed that we did not do justice to the occasion or justice to our many fans at home and globally,” he added.

Pakistan’s next World Cup clash is scheduled against Australia in Bangalore on Friday (October 20).