All three men ended the night on a happy note, with Sharma and Kohli announcing their retirement from the fast-paced short form of the game. Dravid, who finished his stint as India’s coach, is normally a quiet, stoic presence. But after the win, he was screaming and celebrating.
India’s president, Droupadi Murmu, and prime minister, Narendra Modi, both congratulated the team. “In the field, you won the World Cup. But in India’s villages, streets, and communities, you won the hearts of our compatriots,” Mr. Modi said in a video message.
Cricket, followed by hundreds of millions of people, is a crucial part of India’s global brand — perhaps even more important than the country’s film industry. The governing body of cricket in India has at times been accused of using its outsize economic heft to dictate terms around global cricket events, reflecting its status as the richest contributor and a destination for the world’s best players.
The start of the Indian Premier League in 2007 transformed a sport that was once seen as slow and short of cash. In just 17 years, the league’s brand value has surpassed $10 billion, making it among the richest sports leagues in the world. Players routinely earn contracts worth over $1 million for a season that lasts about eight weeks, with some of the highest-paid bagging close to $3 million.
