Politics behind Cricket World Cup 2023 | Why is the Cricket World Cup 2023 not so interesting?

BCCI’s opposition is also the reason cricket hasn’t been included in the Olympics yet. India would play more matches with fewer teams, the BCCI will make more money. Politics behind Cricket World Cup 2023 | Why is the Cricket World Cup 2023 not so interesting?

Introduction – Politics behind Cricket World Cup 2023

Hi there, buddies! It’s time for India to host the Cricket World Cup once more after 2011. And as we did last year, I hope we win again. because the Indian cricket team has been playing well up to this point. With a string of convincing wins, India has been stomping all over the World Cup, keeping no other side in any danger.

The Indian cricket team broke many records in this World Cup. The squad bowled out the opponent with just 55 runs in the World Cup match, making history. The contest was against Sri Lanka. and triumphing with a commanding 302-run cushion.

How on earth was Afghanistan’s squad able to pull this off? What is the cause of cricket’s rising popularity in Afghanistan? How come it is the connection between cricket and geopolitics? Come, let’s talk about some previously unheard tales in this article.

Mohammad Shammi makes record World Cups 2023

With 45 wickets in just 14 matches, Mohammad Shammi became the most successful bowler in World Cup history and broke the record for the most five-wicket hauls in the competition.

With 44 wickets in 23 matches, Zahir Khan owned the previous record. Further records were broken by him in the most recent semi-final encounter. With 7 wickets and 57 runs in a remarkable effort, he became the greatest individual Indian performance in the history of One-Day International cricket. In just 17 innings, he also became the fastest bowler to reach 50 wickets.

Batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Our two best batters, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, amassed about 1,300 runs between them in the batting department. Kohli scored three runs, and Rohit Sharma scored a century. Virat Kohli shattered numerous records also. He is now the only batsman in history to have scored more than 50 hundreds in one-day internationals. With 49 ODI hundreds, Sachin Tendulkar owned the previous record.

He also beat another mark that Sachin had held. highest total scored by a batsman at a World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar established the record with 673 runs during the 2003 World Cup. Additionally, Kohli has now amassed 711 runs in this World Cup. In addition to India, the World Cup has produced two of the competition’s biggest run-scoring matches, among other noteworthy records.

Australia records 2003 World Cup

The first in the match between South Africa and Sri Lanka. with 754 runs in total. and the 771-run match between Australia and New Zealand. and the historic game between Afghanistan and Australia. Glenn Maxwell broke several records in that. He became the first batsman who was not the opener to reach a double century, scoring 201 runs off 128 balls without being out. In the history of ODI cricket, his partnership with the Australian team skipper became the highest eighth wicket partnership.

At one point, Australia was playing at 91-7 and was on the verge of losing the match. Australia’s fate was saved by Glenn Maxwell, who did it all by himself, securing the team’s spot in the World Cup semifinals.

Afghanistan’s narrative stands out as one of the most fascinating of this World Cup, despite the fact that they lost the match they had almost won against three previous World Cup winners: England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

How Cricket become second most popular sport in the world?

With an estimated 2.5 billion fans, cricket is now the second most popular sport behind football. On the other hand, 3.5 billion people love football. This figure is noteworthy for reasons other than just India’s size, as the number of cricket fans in the country is over twice that of Indians overall, and not all Indians are passionate cricket players.

The British Empire is where cricket’s popularity first began. Since its founding in 1909, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been in charge of overseeing international cricket. At the moment, twelve nations are ICC full members. England, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are the twelve complete members of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The common history of British colonialism in many countries has contributed to cricket’s enormous appeal there. To some extent, Afghanistan is an exception; we shall discuss this later. The ten nations competing in the current World Cup are from the 12 ICC full members, with the Netherlands being one of the exceptions. These 12 teams are the only ones allowed to play Test cricket.

Regretfully, the Netherlands earned a berth in the World Cup this year but West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Ireland were unable to qualify. The Netherlands belongs to the ICC’s associate membership tier, which is lower than full membership. The International Criminal Court has ninety-four associate members in all.

How did cricket gain popularity in the Netherlands?

In the Netherlands, a nation unaffected by British colonialism, cricket is becoming more and more popular. One nation in Europe is the Netherlands.

This is due to two main factors:

• First, the Netherlands is close to England; in the early years, the British brought cricket to the country. the expatriate British residents of the Netherlands. Then cricket became more and more popular among the upper-class, affluent Dutch people.

• The second reason is that after World War II, immigrants from the Caribbean, including Suriname, migrated to the Netherlands, where they colonized other nations. This increased the appeal of cricket in the Netherlands.

It’s important to remember, too, that in the Netherlands, sports like field hockey and football are more popular than cricket. The Netherlands is not big on cricket, even though their squad did make it to the World Cup.

When 1st Cricket match played in India?

Turning our attention to India, the first-ever cricket match was played in 1721 in Khambath, Gujarat, between sailors from the East India Company. Cricket was introduced to Australia in the late 1700s, but it wasn’t until the early 1800s that it was introduced to New Zealand and South Africa. It’s ironic that despite England’s widespread dissemination of the game, many of the colonized countries were the first to win the Cricket World Cup.

World Cup History

In the inaugural World Cup of cricket, which was held in 1975 and 1979, the West Indies emerged victorious. And in 1983, India declared victory in the third World Cup. Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are among the nations with several World Cup victories. However, England’s first World Cup trophy was only won in 2019.

Winning serves as a reminder that discipline is the most important quality for success in all endeavors, whether they be academic, professional, employment, or athletic. concentrating on your objective while exercising restraint, and being constant each day. However, most of us fall short at these easy tasks.

Most cricket fans would still recall the exciting 2019 Cricket World Cup final match, and England’s victory in the Super Over was highly contentious. In a technical sense, even the Super Over ended in a draw.

Both England and New Zealand scored fifteen runs in the Super Over during this match. As per the regulations, the side with the most boundaries scored during the match was deemed the winner, as the Super Over resulted in a tie. And England was the fourth-worst team in this year’s World Cup. Of the nine matches it played, England was only able to win three.

Afghanistan’s cricket world Cup story

Despite the fact that Afghanistan is just making its third World Cup appearance. Additionally, Afghanistan has only won one game in total throughout their previous two World Cup matches. That was in 2015, versus Scotland.

With four victories, Afghanistan’s cricket team was ranked higher than England’s. This is the fascinating tale of the cricket squad from Afghanistan. When India won the T20 Cricket World Cup in 2007, among other years, Afghanistan was placed in the lowest category by the ICC.

Section 5. Among the associate members of ICC, this was the poorest division. But with T20 cricket becoming more and more popular that year, things started to turn around for Afghanistan. Following India’s victory in the first Twenty20 World Cup in September 2007, the Asian Cricket Council held its own Twenty20 Cup the following month, which included ten Asian affiliate teams: Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan played against Oman in the finals after winning three of their four group stage matches and defeating the UAE in the semifinals. Both teams were tied in the decisive game. Afghanistan and Oman split the prize. This trophy has great significance for the Afghan people. This was the cricket team from Afghanistan’s maiden win in a competition.

This was a watershed moment in Afghanistan’s history. They won the Division 5 league in the 2008 ICC World Cricket League. They also won the Division 4 league in 2008 and the Division 3 league in 2009. They qualified for their first World Cup in 2015, after just six years. For the Afghanis, however, the trek was difficult.

Afghanistan is the only nation that has not been colonized by the British, as I have already stated. The British were able to conquer various areas of Afghanistan for a while, but they were unable to take over the entire nation. Afghanistan had not traditionally been a cricketing nation. Following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, thousands of Afghanis fled to Pakistan.

These Afghani lads first came across cricket in the Peshawar refugee camps. The Pakistanis were playing cricket, as the residents in the camps for refugees noticed. And they too began to play. At first, they would wrap the plastic bags into balls since they lacked balls and used sticks as bats. A few years later, in 1992, Pakistan achieved its first-ever World Cup victory under the direction of Imran Khan.

These Afghan migrants found encouragement in their win. For this reason, a large portion of Afghanistan’s squad from the 2015 World Cup came from such camps for refugees. Among them is Karim Sadiq, the opening batsman for 2015 who was raised in Pakistan’s Kacha Kara camp. There, he spent the nights working in a factory and the mornings playing cricket.

One may argue that the cricketers representing Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup are second-generation players. Out of the fifteen players, eleven are under 25 years old. Raees Ahmadzai, the assistant coach and a former player, talks about how he picked up cricket as a refugee. He underlines that the Afghanistan cricket team’s current generation is a direct result of their in-country training.

Taliban gained control of Afghanistan when Soviet occupation ended. Their cricket suffered greatly as a result of this. In essence, it can be said that because the Taliban did not interfere with cricket, the game could thrive in Afghanistan. All sports were outlawed in 1994 when the Taliban took power. cricket excluded.

Because cricket being a non-contact sport, the Taliban could tolerate it. The players did not make contact with one another and did not don shorts as is customary in football. But in the thirty years that have passed, things have significantly changed. Both the national song that Afghanistan’s team sings before every game and the national flag that the squad represents are not recognized by the government.

The white flag was adopted as Afghanistan’s new national flag following the Taliban takeover in 2021. Rashid Khan, the most famous cricket player in Afghanistan, gave the earthquake victims his whole World Cup tournament earnings because of this.

He claims that back home, people pray for them. With the hope that they would prevail, they watch their bouts. Since cricket has become Afghanistan’s only source of happiness. Thank goodness, Afghanistan’s men’s cricket team will be able to play in the World Cup.

The women’s cricket team is still having difficulty getting playing chances, meanwhile, as they are currently refugees in Australia. Last year, Rashid Khan urged the reversal of the decision to bar girls from attending high schools and colleges, expressing sympathy with the daughters and sisters of Afghanistan.

“Every day of education wasted is a day wasted from the future of the country.” Cricketers from Afghanistan see the game as more than just a sport. This is a way to combat the situation. Occasionally in opposition to the Soviet invasion. against the oppressions of the Taliban, sometimes. The Afghani footballers are not shy in sharing their thoughts.

7 million citizens of Afghanistan should be expelled.” Cricket becomes apparent as a possible medium for fostering diplomatic ties. Afghanistan’s first test match was against India in Bangalore when they became a full member of the ICC. Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan, received an invitation to India to see this maiden test match.

The Popularity of Crickets – Politics behind Cricket World Cup 2023

Similarly, to reduce tensions between the two nations, Dr. Manmohan Singh invited Yusuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister of Pakistan at the time, to witness the India vs. Pakistan match during the 2011 World Cup. When the Indian cricket team visited Pakistan in 2004, both countries relaxed their visa policies, enabling the general people to watch matches in both nations. This was a similar endeavor.

These incidents highlight the significant influence that cricket’s worldwide appeal has on promoting goodwill among people. As a result, cricket has to be promoted internationally to spark interest in both major and small nations.

Which countries control Cricket Sport?

Regretfully, the current status of the sport indicates that dominance is concentrated in the hands of just three big nations, India being the most powerful.

Although there are 94 associate nations and 12 full members of the ICC in theory, this is only a theoretical model. In actuality, Cricket Australia (CA), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and the BCCI govern the ICC. The Big Three are the names given to these three countries. After the ICC enacted structural and financial reforms in February 2014, giving India, England, and Australia almost exclusive control over cricket’s governance, the consolidation of power intensified.

ICC New Revenue Distribution – Politics behind Cricket World Cup 2023

The Big Three began to control the flow of money as part of this change of power. A sizeable portion of $570 million, or 22.8%, of the $2.5 billion in total anticipated gross revenue the ICC estimated went to the BCCI. England received $143 million, while Australia received $132 million, making up 5.7% and 5.2% of the total shares, respectively.

As a result of this arrangement, associate members received very little funding. The Big Three contended that insufficient returns on investments made in associate country cricket development funds led to a pullback in financial assistance. Thankfully, a new model was established in 2017 and this one was abolished.

Thirteen votes were voted in support of the new model, with only one vote against it, and that vote came from the BCCI. Why? BCCI’s stake would drop from $570 million to $293 million under this revised scenario. a reduction of 22% to 11% in shares. In parallel, associate nations received $280 million to promote cricket in areas where it isn’t yet extremely well-liked.

Unfortunately, this model was only in use for six years. Another model that gives the BCCI exclusive financial control over international cricket was passed this year. The ICC adopted a new income structure in July, according to which full members would get an 88.8% revenue share from 2024 to 2027. It is anticipated that ICC will earn around $600 million a year over the following three years, while BCCI will receive $230 million.

around 38.5%. Eleven percent would go to the affiliate teams combined. And a portion in the single digits would go to the other full members. The same justification as the 2014 model underpins this new income structure: BCCI made a substantial commercial contribution to cricket. 85% of the commercial weightage is ascribed to BCCI because the majority of marketers and the IPL are focused on India.

This means that between 70% and 80% of the cricket economy is contributed by BCCI. Notably, the IPL—also known as the Cash Cow—contributes the most to this cricket economy.

Why was BCCI opposed to taking cricket to the Olympics?

Positive news regarding cricket’s popularity and its impending inclusion in the Olympics exists among all of this. It is anticipated that this breakthrough will bring the sport to new viewers. Strangely, the BCCI’s opposition is also the reason cricket hasn’t been included in the Olympics yet.

Given that playing cricket at the Olympics would increase India’s chances of winning another gold medal, one would question why the BCCI was against the sport being played there. The International Olympic Committee’s threat to member autonomy has been the core of the BCCI’s objections for the entire time. Basically, they were worried that their authority over the ICC would be diminished.

with the International Olympic Committee taken into consideration. Once cricket was played in the Olympics, the BCCI would no longer have authority over scheduling matches or redistributing money.

Sixteen teams competed in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The number of teams dropped to 14 in 2011 and then to 10 in 2019.

Are you aware of the reason? Cash. Because India would play more matches with fewer teams, the BCCI will make more money. The England Cricket Board (ECB) endorsed this in addition to the BCCI. The ECB expressed worries that fewer cricket matches would be played in England, which would result in a loss of revenue if matches were scheduled for two to three weeks during the Olympics.

When Cricket has been played at the Olympics?

There has, however, only been one Olympic cricket match. Just two cricket teams were competing at the 1900 Paris Olympics, and there was only one match played 123 years ago. between France and the United Kingdom. After that, a full ODI event was added for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Sixteen teams competed, and South Africa emerged victorious in the gold medal match.

Despite having been a member of the 1987 World Cup-winning squad, Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh claimed that earning the silver medal was the high point of his career when his side finished in second place with the trophy. Following this, in 2008, during the Olympics in Beijing, He asserted that including nations like China and the USA would be necessary for cricket to become a global sport.

And the Olympics are the quick route to include them. Reiterating similar views, Australian great cricketer Adam Gilchrist claimed in 2009 that adding cricket to the Olympic program would inspire many nations to take the sport seriously and participate for the first time in their history. But for a long while, no one gave their requests any real thought.

When Cricket will play at the Olympics?

Additionally, cricket was excluded from the Olympics. Fortunately, things are starting to change. T20 cricket is set to make its Olympic debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This momentous choice is impacted by cricket’s increasing popularity in America. The United States is set to host the T20 World Cup the following year.

Virat Kohli will probably be forty years old when cricket makes its Olympic debut. The possibility of seeing whether or not the best Indian cricket player now playing can win an Olympic gold medal for our country.

Conclusion – Politics behind Cricket World Cup 2023

the Indian cricket team has been playing well up to this point. With a string of convincing wins, India has been stomping all over the World Cup, keeping no other side in any danger.

The Indian cricket team broke many records in this World Cup. The squad bowled out the opponent with just 55 runs in the World Cup match, making history. The contest was against Sri Lanka. and triumphing with a commanding 302-run cushion.

FAQ’s of Politics behind Cricket World Cup 2023