'Never take away a World Cup final from Mumbai'

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday said the grand welcome accorded to the T20 World Cup winning Indian cricket team in Mumbai was also a message to the BCCI to never take away the final match of a major tournament from the country's financial capital.

Thackeray's remarks appear to be criticism of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for hosting the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad instead of Mumbai. India had lost the 50-over World Cup final to Australia in November last year.

"Yesterday's celebration in Mumbai is also a strong message to the BCCI... Never take away a World Cup final from Mumbai," the former Maharashtra minister said in a post on X.

Thackeray's comments came a day after thousands of cricket fans thronged the Marine Drive in South Mumbai to witness the victory parade of the T20 World Cup winning Indian team, which returned home from the West Indies on Thursday morning. India lifted the T20 World Cup after defeating South Africa at Bridgetown (Barbados) late last month.

The open bus parade started from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Nariman Point after 7.30 pm and went till the Wankhede Stadium. Although it usually takes five minutes to cover the distance between these two points, it took more than one-and-a-half-hour for the parade to do so due to the large gathering of fans.