The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, which commence don Thursday, will boost India's economy by as much as $2.4 billion, economists at the Bank of Baroda estimate. According to economists, The event, which is being hosted in India for the first time since 2011, also coincides with the three-month festive season. Consequently, the even and festive season will benefit the retail sector and people are likely to make "sentimental purchases of merchandise".
Further, the economists expect total Indian viewership for the tournament, including both on television and streaming platforms, to be far larger than the 552 million seen in 2019. The viewership may generate ₹105 billion to ₹120 billion in TV rights and sponsorship revenue “on a conservative basis".The economist at the bank of Baroda also predicted that the ICC Cricket World Cup may also cause inflation. This is because airline tickets and hotel rentals have surged for the period, and service charges in the informal sector in the 10 host cities could show substantial increases on top of the festive-season impact.The big cricket tournament will also support government coffers through increased tax collections on ticket sales, goods and services taxes on hotels, restaurants, and food delivery, giving the country additional fiscal space, economists said.
The World Cup, which takes place every four years, is one of the world’s leading, most viewed and most popular one-day international (ODI) cricket match. In the tournament, ten teams compete for the coveted cup. This year, it is India’s turn to host the quadrennial flagship tournament the 13th edition since its start in 1975. The World Cup will begin today, with the first match being played between the defending champion England and New Zealand.
45 matches will be played in the group stage, with each team set to face all the others once. This year, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka will be are participating in the tournament. Only four teams will progress to the knockout stage, which consists of two semi-final matches and one cup final in Ahmedabad.