The Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Haroon Lorgat has said the Indian team was given the World Cup that was intended to be given to them.
“It was very disturbing to see media reports that suggested a replica was given to Team India. They were absolutely fantastic on that day and they got the trophy that was intended to be given to them… the real one.
“We have a tournament-specific trophy, which is a truly World Cup trophy for the event. It was exactly the trophy that was presented to India. Then there is the replica or the perpetual trophy which travels from place to place. This is used for promotional purposes. That was caught up at one of the ports.
“It's strange that there were suggestions to pay customs duty; we have never done that. That trophy will go back to Dubai. I was personally offended by some of the news stories which said the real trophy was not given to team India. The perpetual trophy has been in and out of this country for several weeks for promotional purposes. We did not need that in India on Saturday,” added Mr. Lorgat.
Excerpts from a media interaction:
World Cup 2011 : I am truly humbled by the feedback I have received that suggests that it has been a phenomenal World Cup. I am grateful to all the stakeholders, organisers, host countries and governments. I should not forget to compliment the players who put up a fantastic performance.
I think long gone are the discussions about the future of 50-over cricket and may it remain like that. We are also truly pleased having exceeded the attendance target that we had set ourselves.
There were more than five runs scored per over, that's a new benchmark that has been set in ODI cricket. This has made ODI cricket more attractive.
We have also seen record website traffic. The India-England match, the India-Pakistan match and the final was the most watched in the history of the game.
One-day cricket format: We have an open mind and we consider inputs from all stakeholders. The Cricket Committee meets in May and that's the when we will start reviewing what we need to ensure that the attraction remains.
Income Tax waiver : We seek exemption for all global events. It's part of the host agreement with the local host (BCCI). It's been the case in the past and it will be in the future. It's normal practice that we apply for tax exemption and to indemnify the ICC from all taxes. We got those from the Governments of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka before the start of the tournament. The Government of India provided that last week.
Toss mess: I am not sure if there was a huge controversy around that (toss in the final). There was a suggestion which said the match referee had not heard the call. We'll review the performance of all officials and all the components of the event.
DRS system : My own view is that the DRS was successful. We cannot talk about blatant errors made and no team would have felt that there could have been a different outcome because of an umpiring decision. Our statistics show that the DRS has brought an additional 5 per cent value to the decisions made. I have not had feedbacks from the umpires, but they are supportive of it. There was drama for the spectators inside the stadium because of the DRS. It provided a lot more entertainment.
There was no change in the 2.5 metre rule (for adjudicating leg before decisions). It was not amended during the tournament. The principle reason for the DRS is to avoid a blatant error or to rectify a mistake that may have been made. The umpires were interpreting that in a certain manner. There were different interpretations of the wide rule. The umpires got together and decided that there has to be consistency in applying the 2.5 metre rule.
Change in format in 2015: It will be a 10-team competition. This has been decided in order to provide good contests. It's more likely to be the format followed for the World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand in 1992.
