ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy to Visit India in July

Dubai: The Cricket World Cup trophy will be in India from July 19-23 during its visit to countries that will participate in the extravaganza to be staged in Australia and New Zealand early next year, the International Cricket Council said today.

The first stopover of the trophy will be Sri Lanka, which won cricket's ultimate prize in Lahore when India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka jointly hosted the tournament in 1996.

The prestigious silverware will arrive in Colombo on a three-day tour on July 4, where it will be received by six members of the World Cup winning squad -- Marvan Atapattu, Upul Chandana, Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillerkaratne, Chaminda Vaas and Pramodaya Wickramsinghe.

During its stay, the trophy will feature at a number of events and will also be on display during the first ODI between Sri Lanka and South Africa at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on July 6.

The trophy will return to Dubai on July 7, before embarking on a five-day tour of India on July 19. The trophy will remain in India till July 23. India is the reigning world champion and will play 1992 winner Pakistan in its opening match in Adelaide on February 15.

The trophy will then visit Bangladesh on July 25 and 26. After visiting 12 countries over four months, the trophy will arrive in Melbourne on November 6 in time for the 100 days to go celebrations.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, "To hold the Cricket World Cup trophy is the dream of every cricketer. The upcoming World Cup will be a great opportunity to watch your team take on the world's best and enjoy the hospitality of two beautiful but very different countries.

"It is significant that the trophy is beginning its journey from Dubai, not only because it has been the home of the ICC since 2005, but also because the UAE has qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1996."