Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma: Unstoppable force since World Cup 2015

“As a young boy I dreamt of winning this trophy; that’s where it all started,” said the cricketer who has perhaps had the biggest impact on the sport globally. These words of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, who finally became a world champion in his sixth attempt in 2011, are an apt reflection of what the showpiece event means to cricketers and cricket fans across the globe. (Complete coverage of ICC Cricket World Cup)

For many kids in India the sport turned into an obsession after Kapil Dev and his team’s landmark win in the 1983 tournament. That victory changed the narrative of the sport forever, shifting its nerve centre from England to the subcontinent, as limited overs cricket zoomed ahead of Tests in terms of popularity.

The 1987 World Cup was the true marker of this paradigm shift as the showpiece event moved out of England for the first time and was jointly hosted by India and Pakistan. Every four years Indian fans waited with bated breath for the team to repeat the success of 1983 and the moment arrived 28 years later. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was immortalised in the annals of Indian cricket history as he hit the winning six at the Wankhede Stadium in the final against Sri Lanka.