The glittering six-kilogram gold and silver crafted cup, to be presented to the winning team of the nine-nation Wills International tournament in Dhaka on November one, has 'bowled out' former Indian skipper Kapil Dev.
The Cup is beautiful. I'm delighted to be able to lay my hands on it now,'' said Kapil as he removed the glass casing of the cup that shows how cricket integrates nations. An exquisite piece of craftsmanship, the Cup, formally handed over to the Minister (Press) of Bangladesh High Commission, Atiqur Rahman, by Kapil here yesterday, was designed by Jaipur-based Arun Industries.
The praise about the Cup by Kapil Dev is not just rhetoric, usually associated with such functions, because it comes from a man who has held aloft quite a few trophies and cups, including the Prudential World Cup at the Lord's in 1983.
Arun Pabuwal of Arun Industries, said the Wills International Cup is different from the Reliance World Cup (1987), MRF-Nehru Cup (1989), Hero Cup (1993), Wills World Cup (1996) and Independence Cup (1997) which were also made by his company.
``All our previous trophies are taller and this time we tried something shorter with a three-sided base,'' Pabuwal said here yesterday.
The main body of the Wills International Cup comprises a bowl which represents a cricket field and in the middle is a cricket ball on top of which there is a batsman playing a shot. Flags of all nine countries, taking part in the Dhaka tournament, are engraved around the bowl.