How an administrator's self-respect brought the World Cup to India in '87

The 2023 World Cup will be the fourth edition of the ICC flagship event in the Indian subcontinent and it's the first time India is hosting the tournament on their own. The 1987 World Cup was the first time the World Cup was co-hosted by India and it's a fascinating story how they acquired the hosting rights despite not being a financial powerhouse.

Actually it all started even before India won the 1983 World Cup. Although they were quietly confident, no one expected them to reach the final, not even the players themselves. When India made the final, the then BCCI president NKP Salve was invited to watch it at the Lord's. 

Salve asked the England Cricket Board (ECB) officials for some extra passes for other BCCI officials who had travelled from India to watch the final and much to his surprise, his request was denied. 

Salve was hurt. After India's famous triumph in the final, Salve was having lunch with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nur Khan with whom he had a good relationship. 

Salve said to him, "I wish India would host big tournaments like the World Cup". Khan took a liking to the idea and suggested that India and Pakistan jointly hosted the tournament in 1987.

But it was almost impossible to move the World Cup out of England. Because at that time, no other country had the facilities and financial resources to host a tournament of such magnitude. A joint committee of the Indian and Pakistani cricket boards was formed featuring administrators like Salve, Jagmohan Dalmiya and IS Bindra.

The strategy to defy the Western bloc was to bring the Associate Members together. At that time, there were seven Test-playing teams and 21 Associate Members. 

India and Pakistan promised five times as much money as England to the Associate Members if they hosted the World Cup. Full Members would get four times more.

It was a shock for the ICC and the joint committee eventually won 16-12 and acquired the hosting rights. 

India and Pakistan had to arrange INR 30 crore to hold the tournament, two-third of which was to be paid by India because of hosting the bulk of matches. The money had to come from direct sponsorships and royalty of TV rights, which would've come after the tournament. 

Salve, with the help of the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, convinced Reliance owner Dhirubhai Ambani for this. 

But after her assassination, the BCCI was afraid of losing the hosting rights because the relationship of Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded Indira, was not cordial with the Ambanis.

VP Singh was the Finance Minister of the Rajiv Gandhi government. He was said to not like Ambani and he apparently said the income tax department to keep an eye on Reliance. 

Their cricket boards asked international sponsors like Coca Cola, Gillette, Mitsubishi, to no avail. Simply, they didn't have enough money to host such a tournament. 

The promised money to the other teams (INR 4 crore) was to be deposited by the end of 1984. The BCCI contacted many companies and businessmen for direct sponsorships and could raise only Rs 38 lakh. Again, not enough. 

Salve then contacted Rajiv Gandhi and he decided to take a risk by paying INR 4 crore from the foreign reserve, hoping that the BCCI would find a sponsor.

In another setback, Doordarshan denied paying TV royalty to the BCCI which was worth Rs 6 crore. 

On the other side, VP Singh was transferred from Finance to Defence Ministry and the next moment, Salve made a call to Ambani, asking if he was interested in sponsoring the tournament. 

Ambani said yes, but in one condition. He wanted to sit next to Rajiv Gandhi in the exhibition match between India and Pakistan before the World Cup. Rajiv agreed. 

Ambani paid the government INR 5.5 crore and bagged the title sponsorship, making his son Anil as the organiser from Reliance's side.

The previous three World Cups - 1975, 1979 and 1983 - were sponsored by Prudential plc, a British multinational insurance company. The 1987 tournament was called the "Reliance Cup". 

Ambani purchased all of the in-ground advertising rights for an astounding INR 2.6 crore. He had the option of putting his own adverts in the spots or renting them out to anybody he pleased. 

Reliance announced that it will pay for all accommodation expenses of the players. Reliance carefully selected those hotel brands that had a presence in the nations of the visiting players.

In an interview before the World Cup, Anil Ambani was asked about his plans for the World Cup.

"What World Cup? I don't know what this is." The journalist clarified, "The thing that you are sponsoring," he replied. 

Anil said, "Oh that? That's the Reliance Cup. Call it that, and nothing else."

The Ambanis focused on brand recognition. The whole India as well as the whole world got to know about them in 1987.

Once a small textile company, now Reliance is the largest public company in India by market capitalisation and revenue. It is India's largest private tax payer and largest exporter, accounting for 7% of India's total merchandise exports.

The 1987 World Cup was a significant event in many senses. It marked the rise of Australia, champions of the tournament, as a commendable force in cricket. It ended England's monopoly and India emerged as a financial powerhouse. The subcontinent became a cricketing hub. NKP Salve's self-respect and the Ambanis' desire to expand business completely changed the landscape of cricket.