To mark two months countdown to the Men's T20 World Cup in Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE), the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a virtual trophy tour starting from Thursday. The virtual tour will be driven around by Nissan.
The tour will be launched by Carlos Brathwaite, the star of the last Men's T20 World Cup. Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes in the last over of the final against England, helping the West Indies claim the title in 2016.
The all-rounder will recite a poem written by Birmingham Poet Laureate, Casey Bailey. The poem aims to capture the essence of T20 cricket and celebrate the dreams and hopes of aspiring cricketers globally.
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"This trophy brings back memories of one of the best nights of my life and so it gives me great joy to be associated with this unique trophy tour, where fans get to take it to places it has never been. Imagine taking it to the Eiffel Tower? Or the Taj Mahal? I am personally looking forward to all the exciting content fans are going to create and would encourage everyone to channel their inner creativity and get involved," said Brathwaite in a press release.
The disruption caused to the world by the Covid-19 pandemic meant that a globe-trotting Trophy Tour was not feasible. Instead, ICC urges cricket fans to take the trophy to more cricket playing nations than ever before.
"The ICC Men's T20 World Cup Trophy can be accessed virtually through a 3D augmented reality filter, housed on the official T20 World Cup Facebook and Instagram pages. Through this filter, fans are encouraged to get creative and take control of the tour, taking the trophy wherever they would like to. This could be their backyard, local cricket club or even a popular landmark in their city. The best of the fan-generated content will be collated and celebrated weekly on the T20 World Cup's social media channels where fans can also win signed event merchandise," further said the press release.
Fans can track and stay up to date with the tour's journey through the Trophy Tour section of the T20 World Cup website, which will serve as a one-stop destination for all the content generated by fans and the ICC throughout the duration of the Trophy Tour.