News channels are offering them big money for special shows and match analysis. TV Today has signed up former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev for an estimated Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million) for Aaj Tak and other channels.

Global Broadcast News, which runs CNN-IBN and IBN7, is close to signing up Navjot Singh Sidhu for a whopping Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million).

Usually, the contracts make former cricketers available to the broadcasters for between 150 and 200 days in a year. The less popular former cricketers manage to earn between Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million) and Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) from similar deals.

TV Today's executive director G Krishnan refused to comment on Kapil Dev's fee but said he would be their resident expert for all the key matches.

"He is the only Indian captain to have led the team to a World Cup victory and his passion for the game is unmatched. As a policy, we don't reveal details of a contract," he said.

The company has also signed up Madan Lal, Arun Lal, and Richard Hadlee for its channels. Zee News, meanwhile, has roped in Nikhil Chopra, Vinod Kambli, Maninder Singh, and Zaheer Abbas.

Zee News CEO Harish Doraiswamy refused to divulge how much he's paying them but added that "the value they bring to the channel justifies the price we pay them."

News channels are rushing to rope in former cricketers and shoring up their coverage of the World Cup as "cricket is a mass interest story," said Uday Shankar, CEO, Star News.

"Since matches in the Caribbean will finish late and newspapers can't catch the results, people will turn to the net or news channels in the morning," said Sunil Lulla, CEO Times NOW. Little surprise, then, that Times Now is setting up a studio in the West Indies.

Media industry experts say news channels may end up spending between Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million) and Rs 4 crore (Rs 40 million) during the World Cup. This would include the cost of sending reporters and camera teams to the Caribbean, transponder fee for live connectivity, and costs of hiring former cricketers and producing special shows.

"Cricket is a religion in this country and as a news channel we cannot under-serve the viewer," said Krishnan. Besides, cricket generates advertising, as brands like to be associated with it.