Australia may use World Cup pitch to woo Indian companies

NEW DELHI: The Australian government plans to use the ICC Cricket World Cup that will be held in that country as an opportunity to put local businesses in touch with Indian companies.

It will be inviting 40-50 business leaders toward this end for a visit that will coincide with a match between India and Pakistan, the first in about a year. Top Indian industrialists are also expected to meet their counterparts from Pakistan during the trip.

“We are creating a business platform to connect Indian corporates with Australians companies on the World Cup ground,” said Australian trade commissioner Tom Calder. The India-Pakistan tie will be held at Adelaide on February 15. “So, what we will be doing is to host a business function for Indian corporates with Australia’s trade and investment minister Andrew Robb,” said Calder.
The Adani Group, which is developing one of the world’s largest coal mine projects in Australia, may be among those attending. Officials said it was too early to name delegates or corporate houses that will be there.
The last time India and Pakistan played a 50-over match was at the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March 2014. Indian cricketers don’t travel to Pakistan because of the security threat. The World Cup, which runs from February 14 to March 29, is among the biggest sporting events in the world and is expected to engage one-fifth of the global population. The likely television audience is pegged at more than one billion, according to the Australian Trade Commission or Austrade. Participants in the tournament are key markets for Australia such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and the UK.