ICC T20 World Cup trophy has Jaipur connection

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

Jaipur-based trophy designer Amit Pabuwal said the trophy for the tournament was made by him 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 inaugural edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup was held. Following that, the International Cricket Council entrusted him with the task of crafting the trophy.

"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 PTI.

Pabuwal said he had earlier designed the world's largest silver "Friendship Cup" trophy for cricket, which drew attention and eventually 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 was made of silver with platinum plating, making it durable and suitable for an international tournament.

Pabuwal added that the original trophy remains at the ICC headquarters, while the winning team receives an identical replica.

The trophy stands about 21 inches tall, weighs around six kilograms and is made of silver with platinum plating, he said.