India

The 1983 World Cup was the moment India stopped being a cricketing colony. Kapil Dev's unfancied side beat the mighty West Indies in the final at Lord's, and a nation that had worshipped the game from afar suddenly owned it. That summer ignited a passion that turned cricket into a religion and produced a generation of players who believed they could win anywhere.

From that spark came the greats: Sachin Tendulkar, whose 34,357 international runs made him a demigod, and Rahul Dravid, the Wall who ground down attacks. The 2000s saw India grow as a touring force, winning Test series in Pakistan and England, before back-to-back series wins in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21 completed the set. In 2007 they won the inaugural T20 World Cup, and in 2011 MS Dhoni's team lifted the 50-over World Cup on home soil, closing the circle begun in 1983.

Under Virat Kohli India built the most relentless Test side of its era, and after the heartbreak of the 2023 World Cup final at home came a golden run: the 2024 T20 World Cup, ending an eleven-year ICC trophy drought, followed by the 2025 Champions Trophy. Against a backdrop of a billion fans and the gold rush of the IPL, India are not just a team but an industry, the game's economic engine, their hunger for victory matched only by the weight of expectation.