Ahmedabad. When the Indian team won the World Cup title in 1983 under the leadership of Kapil Dev, cricket fan Lata Mangeshkar had to perform a ‘concert’ to reward the team players with Rs 1 lakh. By the time the Indian team under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the World Champion for the second time in 2011, the BCCI (Indian Cricket Board) had become the owner of billions of rupees.
In these 28 years, cricket went from being just a sport to becoming an industry. After 12 years, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, the Indian team will play the final match against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad on Sunday. During these 12 years, cricket has become a ‘soft power’ for the country. ‘Soft power’ refers to the use of sports and culture by a country to increase its geopolitical influence. Cricket gives India an opportunity to showcase its strength not only in the sporting community but also in a wider socio-political context.
During the final on Sunday, the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an air-show by the Indian Air Force, two former World Cup winning captains Kapil and Dhoni will be present in the audience gallery, which could give an idea. Magnificence of the match. Amidst all this, many well-known personalities from the world of sports, entertainment and politics will also be present there. Bollywood music director Pritam, singer Jonita Gandhi and Gujarati singer Aditya Gadhvi of Coke Studio will be part of the cultural programme.
500 artists from Mumbai will dance to Bollywood songs in the event before the toss and between innings. For the Australian team and a large TV audience around the world, this cricket match will showcase India’s ‘soft power’. Around 1.30 lakh spectators will be present inside the stadium, while around a billion people will watch the match via television or online, so they will not accept anything less than a title for the Indian team.
Like every match in India, this match too will be filled with fans wearing blue jerseys. The industry of fake team uniforms outside the stadium will also be on the rise. Where fans will compete to buy jerseys numbered 18 (Virat Kohli) and 45 (Rohit Sharma). This match will be memorable for the people in every way but it remains to be seen whether India becomes the champion under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
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Tags: India vs Australia, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, World Cup 2023
First published: November 17, 2023, 22:28 IST