Few Takers for Tour Packages to the World Cup

Corporate battles to capitalize on the enthusiasm generated by the Cricket World Cup have already begun, with soft-drink giants and consumer durable manufacturers sponsoring concerts, contests and splurging on advertising to catch the viewer's eye. Travel agents are, meanwhile, offering cricket fans innovative packages to travel to England to see the matches.

World Cup trophy unveiled with a concert in Delhi

The International cricket Council (ICC) World Cup trophy was unveiled here last week by former Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Bollywood film actress Mahima Choudhary, as part of the “Pepsi World Cup on Tour” program of the U.S. beverage giant that is co-sponsoring the cricket tourney in Britain.

Unveiling the trophy, which was specially flown in from London and is being taken to 25 Indian cities, Srikkanth said that despite continuous poor showing, especially in the recently-concluded Asian triangular series, the Indian team would do quite well in Britain this year.

Srikkanth, who was part of “Kapil’s Devils” team that won the 1983 World Cup, said with Sachin Tendulkar’s return, the Indian team is expected to do quite well. The former cricketer said the English pitch would be very different and good for the bowlers. “Even Saurav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja and Tendulkar will shine with the ball,” he said.

When asked about the fitness of the team in view of Tendulkar’s and Azharuddin’s injuuries, Srikkanth told India Abroad that team physio Andrew Kokinos will be specially working on the problem. “Kokinos will take care of it,” he said refusing to elaborate on the steps being taken to improve the team’s condition.

Vibha Paul Rishi, executive president, marketing, Pepsi Foods Ltd. (India), told reporters during the function that the trophy was being unveiled here so that it would add momentum to “India’s passion for winning the Cup” and to pass on the goodwishes of the people to their team. Pepsi, she said was trying to connect people through a combination of cricket with music.

And the trophy was showcased to the public at a concert and hi-tech laser show organized by Pepsi and MTV at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. With the slogan, "India once more," a team of pop singers and film personalities --- Kamaal Khan, Anaida, Jassi, Abhijeet and film actress Mahima Chowdhary --- performed to about 10,000 spectators to boost the morale of the cricket team for the forthcoming tournament.

Kamaal Khan, Anaida and the other artists enthralled the audience with a special patriotic and encouraging song for the team, after rendering their numbers from their famous albums.

The 150-minutes show was anchored by MV VJs Nafisa Joseph (former Miss India also) and Nikhil Chinappa.

The concert will now move to other Indian cities, including Amritsar, Jalandhar and Jaipur.