The Cup that Counts

Four cricketing ‘gods’ kickstart World Cup countdown in New Delhi.

By Prateek Srivastava

Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga, Kapil Dev and Viv Richards played a raconteur’s role perfectly well at the World Cup trophy roll-out ceremony in New Delhi on Thursday.


There could not have been better men on the planet to share the dais. Imran, Arjuna and Kapil all have lifted the trophy for their respective countries as captains while Viv has been instrumental in the West Indies’ back-to back triumphs in 1975 and 1979.


Stories from their past abounded and the packed Ballroom at the Oberoi merrily shook as the audience, mainly consisting of journalists, had a great laugh.


The hosts and the official broadcasters for the ICC World Cup, ESPN STAR Sports made the most of the occasion to kick off their campaign “The Cup that Counts”.


ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, the tournament director Prof. Ratnakar Shetty and ESS managing director Manu Sawhney were the first to address the gathering.


However, everyone out there was waiting for the great quartet. Master of ceremonies Alan Wilkins had a difficult time to deal with an audience that was getting more and more impatient with every ticking of the clock.


All the greats came in finally after some time and were greeted with a big roar amidst click noises the shutterbugs made. When it all stopped, the storytelling began.


Everyone had a lot to say but it were Imran Khan’s remarks on former teammate Javed Miandad that split the sides most. While praising Miandad for his invaluable contribution to Pakistan’s World Cup win in 1992, Imran could not stop himself saying, “Miandad has not changed one bit from the time I first met him. He was 18 then. All processes of evolutions seem to have bypassed him”.


Viv in his turn recalled the match-changing catch Kapil took in the 1983 World Cup final, adding, anybody other than Kapil could not have run that long to pull it off.


Arjuna, who we all know is an anti-Australian to the core, came up with a great many stories highlighting his rivalry with the Kangaroos.


The afternoon was a memorable one, one must say.


The broadcasters know it’s the biggest event for them in the sub-continent, and that they have to be at their best to provide a world-class coverage. Sawhney shed light on what is new this time around.


“At ESPN STAR Sports we are committed to bring alive this passion for the game to fans all across the globe in the most engaging manner. We are therefore launching many first-of-its-kind initiatives during this edition including a special Hindi feed for select matches, HD production and Live match coverage through 3G mobile streaming,” he informed.


Lorgat too informed what ICC is doing to attract more and more people to the event that starts February 19 with the India-Bangladesh match at Dhaka.


“The ICC has planned its advertising campaign nicely. We are going to have a laser show in Cape Town on December 31 to mark the countdown of 50 days. We expect the Indian and South African teams to be present at the occasion. Then we will bring the trophy at Bombay Stock Exchange to mark the 30-days-to-go. There are so many such events. We are doing our best to make sure a lot of people are part of the celebration,” Lorgat said.