Kane Williamson and Pat Cummins present a giant 2023 World Cup t-shirt to Great Khali

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and Australian captain Pat Cummins presented a giant World Cup t-shirt to former WWE wrestler The Great Khali.

The 2023 ICC ODI World Cup commenced this afternoon with the clash between England and New Zealand. All the teams had two warm-up games over the past week to get acclimatized to the conditions in India.

Williamson and Cummins were present at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday for the Captain's Day event, along with eight other captains. Khali also attended as a guest and met the players.

During the event, Cummins and Williamson went on to give Khali a souvenir (a World Cup t-shirt). Cummins gave a glimpse of it by sharing a picture on his official Instagram handle.

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With Kane Williamson not there for the first game, the batting looks even weaker: Aakash Chopra on New Zealand squad

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra recently previewed the New Zealand squad ahead of their match against England and opined that they were weak in the batting department. He pointed out that Kane Williamson's unavailability due to fitness issues would worsen their batting woes.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra spoke about the importance of Williamson for New Zealand, saying:

“New Zealand’s batting looks a bit weak compared to previous tournament. With Kane Williamson not there for the first game, the batting looks even weaker. Devon Conway is a reliable batter at the top, but there will be Will Young at the other end because Finn Allen could not live up to expectations. Tom Latham will have to hold the middle order together. He will have to bat well along with Daryl Mitchell."

He added:

“In Ahmedabad if the pitch is flat, they have only 2-3 bowlers who can exploit the condition, which is a slightly sad story. If there is no Kane, there is no gain. The team’s batting is heavily dependent on him. New Zealand’s bowling looks decent. It will be England’s batting versus New Zealand’s bowling."

Do you agree with Aakash Chopra's views? Sound off in the comments section below.