Measured against international tournaments in other sports like football and tennis, the cricket World Cup is a minnow. It needs Indian consumers to push it into the big league. From a financial perspective, it is entwined with India’s cricketing fortunes, which have been looking up in both the men’s and women’s versions of the game. IPL gains some of its popularity by showcasing Indian talent uniformly throughout the season. But the World Cup is a better platform to establish a cricketing nation’s credentials and, for the lack of another word, class. Success here draws more money and sporting talent into the ecosystem. A decent Indian showing in this tournament is good for the health of cricket in the country and, by association, in cricket-playing countries where the sport competes with others for audience reach. Ergo, for the commerce that feeds off this beast.
International cricket has an overdependence on India’s fixation with the sport. ICC has a concentrated growth engine that helps it broaden cricket’s appeal globally. The World Cup should make the economics around the sport more robust.