Nike backs the power of self-belief with giant cricket installations across Mumbai
By James Herring on Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Nike and Wieden+Kennedy Portland are taking cricket out of the stadium and onto the streets with ‘Born to Beat the Odds’, a striking out-of-home campaign launching as the Men’s T20 Cricket World Championships arrive in India.
The work celebrates self-belief as the defining skill Indian athletes must master in a country overflowing with talent, pressure and expectation.
Across Mumbai, giant cut-outs of elite and everyday cricketers have begun appearing at landmark locations, borrowing an iconic Indian medium traditionally reserved for cultural heroes and turning it towards sport.
Household names including Jemimah Rodrigues, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma and Shafali Verma appear as larger-than-life figures, positioned as proof that greatness starts with believing you belong.
They are joined by up-and-coming academy players, reinforcing Nike’s message that the same grit fuels both international stars and future talent playing in maidans and gullies.
The campaign also features a teaser and anthem film, ‘The Odds’, voiced by legendary commentator Harsha Bhogle.
A standout moment comes via a towering installation of three-year-old cricket prodigy Debark Maity, signalling that ambition has no minimum age.
Social-first films will roll out across the month, ensuring Mumbai remains a living reminder that beating the odds begins in the mind.
