There can be absolutely no doubt that the ICC and more so, the hosts, BCCI in the main, will reap a bonanza from World Cup 2011 that no previous event has ever provided, so will the television rights holders. The whole jing-bang of sponsors and advertisers are in queue to get their brand/products on the bandwagon of the biggest cricket event for hectic 45 days. In what proportion will the entire revenue be shared by the co-hosts is not known, but everyone will make a tidy packet.

Just a short clip of a ten-second message on television during a match will cost a minimum of Rs. 2.5 million. Then there are prime slots and sponsorship of special features. It is difficult to evaluate the total worth of in-stadia advertisement and display, merchandising and other rights.

The biggest gainers will of course be the leading members of Team India. The start of the conditioning camp at Bangalore had to be delayed to allow some of them to complete their shooting and recording schedules. The stern warning by the ICC to them not to indulge in ambush marketing seems to have no effect, as they know that under the law, their intellectual property rights are well protected.

Ambush marketing, according to ICC, means endorsing a similar rival product or service of those on the official sponsors' list. Remember how Team India's main sponsor Sahara was forced to drop the title because Sahara then had an airline of the same name. Since South Africa Airways were the official carriers of the 2003 World Cup event, the bogey of ambush marketing was raised.

When commercialism first came into cricket, a knockout County tournament, as different from the County Championships (League) in England was sponsored by Gillette. The Gillette Cup became popular but the players did not get anything in return. They had thought of their own way of getting even with the sponsors.

Several players from the two teams in the final took to the field sporting a week's growth on their unshaven faces. The world's leading manufacturer of shaving products were thus left red-faced as the photographs of so many in stubbles did the rounds. They pulled out of the sponsorship. This is true ambush marketing, or should we say sponsorship bashing, and not what ICC makes it out to be now.

Today, when there are any number of manufacturers or marketing companies of similar products on the same platform, like mobile phones, automobiles, two-wheelers etc., no one talks of ambush marketing. But when it comes to individual player's endorsement, the ICC bares its fangs.

Indian cricketers today make millions in playing fees and crores of rupees by way of endorsements and modeling. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni have left top Bollywood idols behind. The World Cup has already enlarged their demand. Captain Cool in fact has become the highest-paid model in the country.

In the end, it is not how well you are paid, but how well you play that will help you win the World Cup.