DP World may have become synonymous with cricket. Its association with the International Cricket Council (ICC) has helped strengthen its identity within the game. As part of its Beyond Boundaries initiative, it pledges 10 cricket kits for every 100 runs scored during global events, making it one of the most talked-about partnerships in the sport. "We don't even use the word 'sponsorship', we use the term 'partnership,'" corrects Daniel van Otterdijk, chief communications officer of the Dubai-based logistics giant.

Since its launch in 2023, the initiative has delivered more than 3,300 cricket kits and 14 repurposed shipping containers across eight countries and four continents, including India, South Africa, Namibia and the United Kingdom, helping create opportunities for thousands of young players.

In India alone, six containers and 1,550 kits have been delivered across Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai. The kit includes everything a cricketer needs - a helmet, bag, gloves, abdomen guard, bat and ball. "Essentially everything a youngster needs to elevate his or her game to the next level. It's a fully functional cricket kit," reveals Otterdijk in a conversation with Cricbuzz.

The multinational logistics company also has partnerships in golf, but its association with the ICC and cricket has helped significantly expand its footprint in India. "First of all, our Indian market is the biggest market in the world. I keep reminding people of this. India is still projected to grow at around 8.3 per cent GDP this year. Despite the wars and everything else happening globally, it remains the fastest-growing major market in the world, the most populous market in the world and one of the biggest consumer markets in the world. I probably don't need to point that out to you," Otterdijk, a Dutch by birth but based in Dubai, tells this website.

During the recent Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, DP World moved around 55 metric tonnes of cargo from venue to venue - broadcasting equipment, support equipment and everything else required - to ensure that the matches could be conducted and viewed seamlessly. People tend to take such operations for granted without fully realising what happens behind the scenes - the screens, cameras, cables and the endless amount of infrastructure that has to be set up at every stadium, be it in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Colombo and elsewhere. The 55-game World Cup played across eight venues in two countries, culminating in India lifting the trophy in Ahmedabad.

"It's been great. We started off relatively small - with one or two championships or a World Cup - and over time we've seen the benefits as the association expanded into T20 cricket, 50-over cricket, the World Test Championship, women's cricket and all the various platforms that we are really keen to develop. Grassroots cricket, too, is very important to us. So we've become a major and integral partner of the ICC," Otterdijk notes.