ICC World Cup 2023: Why this is India’s chance to shine in cricket and beyond
India is hosting the Cricket World Cup after 12 years, and the adrenaline is soaring. The national team looks ready, the fans are excited, and the economy is slated to receive a huge consumption boost.
The past fortnight has been an exciting period for Indian cricket with significant triumphs recorded by both the men’s and women’s teams. While the latter grabbed Gold at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the former picked up the Asia Cup 2023 title, and also beat Australia to win a bilateral series and become the world’s No. 1 ODI side.
Now, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which kicks off today with the warm-up games, is upon us. The main championship starts on October 5 and ends on November 19, with 48 matches scheduled to be played among 10 teams. Besides Team India’s purple patch going into cricket’s showpiece event, there’s added enthusiasm this year as the country hosts the World Cup for the first time in 12 years.
Back in 2011, when then-captain MS Dhoni hit that six into Mumbai’s night sky to bring home the coveted crown after 28 years, it began a lucky run for all host nations of the World Cup. Not just in 2011, but in the 2015 and 2019 editions too, countries hosting the tournament—Australia and England, respectively—emerged champions. Hence, if you asked any Indian fan today, they’re already preparing for the home team’s potential victory at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves because sporting heartbreaks—as we found out in 2015 and 2019, with India crashing out in the semifinals—can be devastating. Yes, the Indian team looks in great shape with most key players returning from injuries and settling into their defined roles and positions, but a high-pressure tournament like a World Cup is a different ball game altogether.
More so, when half of India’s 15-member squad would be playing their first-ever World Cup. Watch out for Shubman Gill, the current crown prince of Indian cricket, who had a stellar 2023, and is gunning for the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time calendar year record from 1998. Can he get there?
Many believe that 24-year-old Gill is at that stage of his career where Virat Kohli was during World Cup 2011. That year, the baton was passed on to him on the glorious night of April 2 when he carried Sachin on his shoulders after India’s famous win at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Will Kohli, who’s been the undisputed ‘King’ of world cricket since then—even winning the ‘ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Decade’ in 2020—pass on the baton to Gill this time?
Also, this year could turn out to be the last time we get to see two of India’s greatest ODI batters—Kohli himself and captain Rohit Sharma—represent the country in a 50-over World Cup. Cue in a lump in the throat!
There’s a lot to look forward to in the bowling department too. As India’s premier bowler Jasprit Bumrah returns after a long injury-induced layoff, he would be ably supported by rising star Mohammed Siraj, who recently ripped through Pakistan’s batting line-up during the Asia Cup final, going on to draw praises from politicians, industrialists, filmmakers, and fans alike.
On paper, India pretty much looks like the team to beat. Former England captain Michael Vaughan has even gone on record to say, “It’s quite clear to me... Whoever beats #India will win the WC… it’s only the pressure of the burden that could stop them.”
Twenty years ago, in Johannesburg in South Africa, the “pressure of the burden” did stop another defiant Indian team from winning a World Cup that everyone believed was theirs. While a nation of 1.4 billion holds its bated breath this time, we hope we go on to repeat 2011 instead of 2003.
You can check out the full World Cup 2023 schedule here.
Beyond the cricket: A win-win for Indian economy
Cricket in India is never about the sport alone with allied things taking up as much significance. It’s no different this time.
Ahead of the World Cup, cricket tourism seems to be getting a big boost as the demand for private charters soars. Earlier, The CapTable reported that prices of chartering aircraft are rising, and the last-minute demand for services, especially ahead of the India-Pakistan match on October 14, could further shoot up prices by ~20%.
According to BookMyJet Founder Santosh Sharma, not only are Indians looking to hire private jets to get to matches with their friends and families, but several corporations are also looking to book 50-100-passenger aircrafts to fly their employees to these matches.
Meanwhile, hotels and homestays in Ahmedabad, which is hosting the most-anticipated Indo-Pak match, are overbooked, with new rooms being added at 10X their usual rates. In fact, tourist searches for Ahmedabad have jumped by a whopping 1,702%, according to a survey conducted by travel aggregator Agoda.
Besides Ahmedabad, hotels in Pune and Dharamshala too have seen room rates soar by over 300%. The likes of MakeMyTrip and OYO are also adding properties and expanding their inventories to cater to the high demand in the 10 host cities across the country.
While domestic demand is surging, World Cup-adjacent tourism is expected to fetch India over Rs 5,700 crore from foreign travellers, with areas like aviation, hospitality, and intercity travel likely to reap rich dividends.
Additionally, sectors like FMCG and food delivery are also slated to receive a boost from the 46 days of the tournament. A report by brokerage firm Elara Securities indicates that platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, and other QSR brands, would gain significantly during match times, with large cricket-watching groups likely to influence high consumption of items like pizzas, burgers, fried chicken, biryani, and coke.
Not to forget the windfall that Disney Star is expecting from the World Cup. The official event broadcaster, which has been in a bit of a soup lately, is charging a premium from advertisers, and is expected to rake in ad revenues of Rs 2,000-2,200 crore. It has roped in 30-odd sponsors across Star Sports and Hotstar (which would be streaming the World Cup for free on its mobile app), including some of India’s biggest brands—HUL, Coca-Cola, Mahindra, PhonePe, MRF, Dream 11, Upstox, Bharat Pe, and Bira91, among others.
All in all, it promises to be an action-packed time for India, also coinciding with the festive season, which generally, is the most lucrative quarter for many companies. Let’s just hope we can make use of all leftover Diwali crackers on the night of November 19!
Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta