ICC T20 World Cup Trophy Has Jaipur Connection

Jaipur: While the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has attracted global attention for its high-octane cricket, the tournament also has a little-known connection with Jaipur, where the iconic trophy was produced.

Jaipur-based trophy designer Amit Pabuwal said that the tournament’s trophy was made by him after the initial design concept was prepared by Australian Minale Bryce.

Pabuwal said the design draft of the trophy was prepared in 2007, when the inaugural edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was held. After this, the International Cricket Council gave him the task of preparing the cup.

“After the design draft was completed, ICC gave me the job of making the trophy. This is how the ICC T20 World Cup trophy was produced in 2007,” he told PTI.

Pabuwal said he had earlier designed the world’s largest silver ‘Friendship Cup’ trophy for cricket, which attracted attention and eventually led to the ICC approaching 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-paced and modern style of T20 cricket,” he said.

“Several prototypes were prepared, but the glass components broke repeatedly while being integrated into the metal structure, making the concept technically difficult to implement. After several experiments, I said that the combination would not technically work.”

He said the final version was made of platinum-plated silver, making it durable and suitable for an international tournament.

Pabuwal added that the original trophy remains at the ICC headquarters while the winning team gets a replica of the same.

He said the trophy is about 21 inches high, weighs about six pounds and is made of platinum-plated silver.