ODI World Cup legacy: Making the case for a greater future

In 1983, Kapil’s Devil’s secured a landmark first World Cup title by defeating the two-time champion West Indies. This victory not solely marked India’s triumph on the cricket discipline but additionally had an enduring impression on the sport within the Indian subcontinent. Over the following fifteen years, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, impressed by an identical indomitable spirit, went on to say World Cup titles. Meanwhile, India established itself as a distinguished world participant within the sport.

That has been the case with each version.

The 2011 World Cup highlighted how younger skills from smaller cities may grow to be heroes, shaping the way forward for Indian cricket. Over the last decade that adopted, the sport’s high quality improved significantly, and the marketplace for cricket expanded.

And 2023 wouldn’t be any totally different.

Though it resulted in heartbreak for India because it misplaced within the ultimate to a mighty Australian facet, the event noticed the rise of Afghanistan and the Netherlands. By outclassing three former champions — England, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan — Afghanistan gained 4 of its league matches earlier than squandering an opportunity of reaching the semifinals. But its dominance, willpower, and aggressive type of play had been indications sufficient that they had been prepared for the massive stage.

In its third ODI World Cup, Afghanistan, regardless of a historical past of poor information, exceeded expectations. The Afghans had been on a roll, scripting probably the most vital story of the event. “Earlier, our wins would often be termed upsets, but we have shown the world that we can win regularly against big teams. We know that if we can improve our game, it will inspire the next generation, and that’s our aim,” Ikram Alikhil, one of many key members of the Afghan workforce, says “Hum kar payenge (We can do it).”

And, in a war-ravaged nation the place cricket is a good healer, such optimistic outcomes permit the youthful technology to chase their desires. “Next time, whenever we beat a big team, everybody will know that the batch of 2023 showed the way. They instilled the belief, and that’s the legacy the team wanted to leave behind,” says Raees Ahmadzai, the assistant coach. The International Cricket Council (ICC) can also be dedicated to nurturing cricket on the grassroots. Through a particular partnership with DP World, they launched the ‘Beyond Boundaries Initiative.’ The ICC companion pledged over 2,500 cricket kits for grassroots cricket golf equipment. The idea was to offer kits to younger gamers for each 100 runs scored by a workforce. Already, over 800 kits have been delivered, with 250 distributed in Chennai.

Just a few weeks in the past, a container with cricketing gear was delivered to the Chennai Boys Higher Secondary School by former India worldwide Ravi Shastri, and it wasn’t only a one-off occasion. The container will probably be stationed on the Gen-Next Cricket Institute, Loyola College Ground, with the kits distributed to gamers of the Gen-Next Cricket Academy, Supers Kings Academy, and different authorities colleges in Chennai.

“It’s an initiative we are really proud of. We spoke at length about how we could drive positive benefit, especially at the grassroots level,” Nick Pinder, the vice chairman of sponsorship and partnerships on the ICC, tells Sportstar.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma through the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ultimate.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

“It was part of the legacy of this event. It was about giving children and youngsters the kits that they need to develop their game. Ten kits were to be delivered for every 100 runs scored during the group league stage, and that increased to 50 kits for every 100 runs in the semifinal,” Pinder says. Though the thought is to distribute the kits to all of the full-member and affiliate nations, the logistics are nonetheless being labored out. “Apart from the Beyond Boundaries programme, the ICC also has its own grassroots initiative known as Criiio. This too involves the distribution of cricket equipment to member nations which can be challenging to coordinate. We are working with the team at DP World and leveraging their smart logistics expertise to enable the distribution of Criiio equipment the world over,” Pinder says.

The initiative has drawn an enormous response in cricket circles and on social media, and it may be a big enhance for affiliate nations just like the Netherlands. This event was memorable for the Dutch, as they grabbed consideration by defeating South Africa in a bunch league match.

“A lot of people are proud of us within the cricketing community in the Netherlands. It is a very small community. I’d say in total there won’t be any more than 5,000 odd people that play cricket in the Netherlands. So, we’re not talking about thousands or hundreds of thousands of people,” batter Teja Nidamanuru says.

“The response has been very positive, and I’ve seen it being covered on the main national news, which is called NOS. There was an article there. It was on live television. The awareness of the game is also growing in the Netherlands, which is a really huge positive for us because quite often when you say you play cricket, not many people know what that is.”

And that’s what the World Cup is all about. Win or lose, it units an instance for the longer term.