Close on the heels of the 40th anniversary of India’s maiden World Cup triumph in 1983, cricket’s showpiece event returns to the game’s commercial heart. Previously, India hosted the championship in 1987, 1996, and 2011; and even if the 2023 edition’s base was well known in advance, it was on Tuesday that the ICC, in tandem with the BCCI, announced the final schedule of matches that commence on October 5 and conclude on November 19, with Ahmedabad hosting both the inaugural game and the summit clash. The perception that the host nation never wins has waned over the last few editions as India (2011), Australia (2015) and England (2019) broke through the jinx. And as the World Cup returns to India during its festive season, it remains to be seen if the Men in Blue can add to the fireworks. The gimmicky unveiling of the cup up in the skies on Monday was part of the high-decibel marketing campaign, but what matters is the action on the turf. With domestic T20 leagues eating into the calendar, ODIs need the World Cup to stay relevant. The willow game, lost between the romance of Tests and the frenzied thrills of T20, has seemingly ignored the charms of the good old ODI. The latest World Cup may perhaps reboot ODIs.
Cricket is a sport with a limited global footprint and the ICC’s big ticket championships play a part in propagating the game beyond the former British colonies. In India, with its summers propping up the Indian Premier League, while domestic cricket draws in the proverbial two men and a dog, this World Cup offers another opportunity to attract the crowds and infuse life into ODIs. That former champions West Indies and Sri Lanka are jostling in the qualifiers remains a sad reality while it is heartening to see Afghanistan in the main draw. Closer home, Rohit Sharma’s men have the difficult task of repeating what M.S. Dhoni’s troops did in 2011. From that winning outfit, Virat Kohli remains an enduring link and he and his colleagues have to end the drought in ICC events. India last won a title — Champions Trophy — in 2013, and has subsequently failed. Off the field, diplomacy will come into play as Pakistan, upset with India’s reluctance to tour, has been aloof; the least the Indian government could do is to smoothen the visa process. Australian Usman Khawaja with Pakistani roots and the Pakistan football squad had to wait for a visa till the last minute, and it reflects poorly on a regime fully aware of sport’s soft power.
