Cup boost that goes beyond cricket

Ricky Martin sung these lines for FIFA France 98'. Give it to India's supporters and they will dance to its beat with more merriment as the home team romps to victory after victory in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

- Rasesh Mandani and Aditya Chaturvedi

The cup of life, this is the one

Now is the time, don't ever stop

Here we go! Ale, ale, ale!

Go, go, go! Ale, ale, ale! 

A World Cup in India, one where the home team is painting the country blue, is the stuff of dreams. It's all coming together for the organisers, the stakeholders, almost everyone big or small in cricket.

Kiaan Parekh, 16, is living his dream. A wicket-keeper batter for his school team, he gets to accompany Dawid Malan, as a player escort, to the playing arena at the Wankhede stadium for the anthems, ahead of the England-South Africa World Cup clash. If the young mascot goes on to make a career in cricket, this experience would have gone a long way in shaping his dream. Count that as a wellness benefit of a World Cup in India.

From local trains to nukkads, airport lounges to coffee tables, conversations around the World Cup have been a running theme. How can things be any different at the academies, the temple of cricket?

"The kids are obsessed with the World Cup matches. They discuss every detail with great enthusiasm. When the biggest tournament of the sport is happening in the country, they feel a special connection," says Ganpat Mangela, who has been running a cricket academy in suburban Juhu for more than thirty years.