Kamal Ghorui
As the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final draws attention from cricket fans, the tournament trophy has a connection with Jaipur, where it was crafted.Jaipur-based designer Amit Pabuwal said he made the T20 World Cup trophy after the initial design concept was prepared by Australia’s Minale Bryce.
Pabuwal said the design outline of the trophy was prepared in 2007, the year the first edition of the T20 World Cup was held. After the design was finalised, the International Cricket Council gave him the responsibility of making the trophy.Also See: IND vs NZ T20 World Cup Trophy Live Score“Once the design outline was finalised, the ICC assigned me the work of making the trophy. That is how the ICC T20 World Cup trophy was produced in 2007,” he told news agency PTI.Pabuwal said he had earlier designed the world’s largest silver “Friendship Cup” cricket trophy, which drew attention and later led the ICC to approach him for the T20 World Cup trophy.“The ICC had initially planned to create the trophy using a combination of titanium and glass so that the design would reflect the fast and modern style of T20 cricket,” he said.“Several prototypes were prepared, but the glass components repeatedly broke when being integrated with the metal structure, making the concept technically difficult to execute. After several experiments, I advised that the combination would not work technically.”He said the final version of the trophy was made of silver with platinum plating so that it would last for long and be suitable for an international event.Pabuwal added that the original trophy is kept at the ICC headquarters, while the winning team receives an identical replica.The trophy is about 21 inches tall, weighs around six kilograms and is made of silver with platinum plating, he said.India, meanwhile, are chasing several milestones in the final. They are aiming to become the first host nation to win the T20 World Cup, the first side to defend the title and the first team to win the tournament three times.India have reached the final four times, the most by any team. Out of the nine previous finals, six were won by the side chasing. Of the remaining three, India won two — in 2007 and 2024 — both in matches decided in the final over.
