As India takes on Sri Lanka today, these people will be keeping their fingers crossed. And they are not necessarily cricket fans – they are the sponsors who have banked heavily on Team India, and the tour operators looking forward to give Indians a taste of Caribbean. But that can all come true only if India makes it today!


They will be watching India with bated breath today. Don't confuse their enthusiasm for India with cricket fever, it is sheer economics! They are the big sponsors who have poured more than Rs 400 crore of their ad budgets on the team – a 60 per cent increase from the last World Cup. And if the Boys in Blue fail to make it to Super Eight, it can jeopardise these crores and more that the companies expected to make off India.


With a 30-second ad spot reportedly going for something between Rs 2-3.5 lakh, the stakes are very high. Also, if India fails to make it, the fate of ICC's global sponsorship deals – bids for which are currently open at $60-80 million per sponsor – will hang in balance. "India's early exit will not only see a fall in TV viewership, but even the sponsors may back out. An early exit has a long-term impact on future revenues of companies, as the brand ambassadors get the tag of losers," explains adman Anil Thakraney.


Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which has the broadcast rights for the 2007 World Cup, is also praying for the best. "India has lost just one match. Let's see how the tournament unfolds," says a senior SET official. While the broadcaster and some advertisers are currently in a wait-andwatch mode, others are quietly working on an alternate plan. "Our commitment is to cricket. We don't have a direct association with a team or a player," explains Harit Nagpal, marketing director for Hutch.


The travel industry is not faring any better. The business in this sector was already slow as the cost of visiting Caribbean is high. But post India's loss to Bangladesh, even that trickle has dried up. Says Javed Akkhtar, the CEO of TravelPort, "We expect atleast 50 per cent cancellations if India does not qualify." With 90 per cent of the bookings for the Super Eight round, this worry is shared by most of the tour operators. Says Gautam Sharma, head of marketing, Thomas Cook, "There have been no fresh bookings this week. Even the 2000 people booked for the Super Eight category may drop out if India lose." One such person is actor Gulshan Grover. "I had made tentative bookings but everything now depends on whether India wins the match," he says.