The 2023 International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup trophy created quite a stir at Dana Mall in Sanabis yesterday as thousands of people gathered around a stage, just outside the entrance to LuLu Hypermarket where it had been put on display.
The glittering trophy was formally unveiled in a spectacular ceremony on Saturday evening, after it arrived in Bahrain for a two-day stop on its 18-country global tour, by Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The World Cup begins in India on October 5 and the trophy is being taken to 18 countries across five continents ahead of cricket’s international showpiece event.
And the scene outside LuLu Hypermarket for nearly four hours yesterday could well have been mistaken for throngs of spectators in the stands at a World Cup game.
According to Bahrain Cricket Federation (BCF) officials, who organised the event in partnership, more than 3,000 people visited the trophy display with mall security as well as special ICC-appointed guards for the trophy struggling to maintain order.
But no mishap occurred because the thousands of cricket fans and other curious spectators present inside the mall only wanted to get their chance to have a photograph taken with the iconic trophy – and almost all of them eventually did walk away with that memory captured in their cell-phones.
ICC deputy chairman Imran Khwaja, who also arrived in the kingdom on Saturday and spoke at the unveiling ceremony, was on hand to witness the excitement along with BCF advisory board chairman and LuLu Group director Juzer Rupawala, who said the response to the trophy being displayed in the mall was “overwhelming with fans from different age groups queuing up to have their photographs taken with the trophy”.
“It has truly been an honour for us to display this trophy for four hours (from 11am to 3pm) and we have seen a huge rush from fans which reflects how cricket unites the world,” Mr Rupawala told the GDN.
“I would like to thank the ICC for this grand gesture by putting Bahrain on the map as part of the global trophy tour and the efforts of Imran Khwaja along with the BCF.
“The extraordinary event, backed by Shaikh Khalid, further demonstrates the government’s commitment to sports, including cricket,” he added.
The occasion was more like a carnival with the BCF pulling out all the stops to ensure the gathering crowds were kept entertained. The trophy remained the centre of attraction but fans were also treated to the sight of Mr Rupawala, Mr Khwaja and Mr Mansoor batting and bowling in brief displays on a mini-pitch laid out next the stage.
There was still more to cheer for some lucky fans with Iqbal Sikander, who is the ICC’s development head for Asia and was a member of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning squad, signing T-shirts for members of the audience.
And Deepika Rasangika, the former Sri Lanka international who now plays for Bahrain and holds the world record for the highest individual score (161 not out) in women’s T20Is, also made it a special day for some other fans by signing T-shirts for them.
Meanwhile, for most people in the crowd, seeing the coveted World Cup trophy at such close range was something they could never have imagined.
“I’m getting gooseflesh just standing here,” Asiya Akram, a 23-year-old graphic designer who was born in Bahrain to Pakistani parents, told the GDN.
“My parents often told my sibling and I about watching Pakistan win the 1992 World Cup. I’ve never been to a cricket match in my own country but, now, here I am, waiting in line to have my photograph taken with the trophy.
“And, if I’m lucky, I might even get a picture with Iqbal Sikander, who was actually in the team that won the 1992 World Cup! My parents will be so thrilled!”
For Ravi Sharma, 38, a software engineer from Delhi who said he was at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium to witness India’s historic 2011 World Cup win, the occasion afforded him the chance to show his cricket-mad, nine-year-old son, Pramod, the beautiful trophy.
“He has always asked me what it was like to be in the stadium with so many thousands of people cheering India on to the win,” Sharma said.
“Now, I’ll be able to lift him up in my arms next to the trophy and tell him ‘this is what it felt like’! My son is my own personal world cup trophy and it fills me with joy to see him also love the game that I cherish so much.”
Later, the trophy was transported to Al Najma Club in Juffair, from where it was taken in the back of an open truck, which led a procession of nearly a hundred cars, to the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) via Bab Al Bahrain.
adnan@gdnmedia.bh
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