Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 12/Sep 07:39

T20 Olympic dream is on

THE EDITOR: Matt Roller (ESPNcricinfo) recently wrote that TT is “the tiny country that keeps producing T20 superstars.” After more than a century (128 years) and with an estimated 2.5 billion fans worldwide, cricket is returning to the Olympics. With the dynamic, fast-paced T20 format, the world’s second most popular sport was added to the 2028 Olympic Games. One of the biggest potential benefits of this reintroduction is the renewed attention it would attract from large South Asian nations such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, with a combined viewing population of 1.42 billion, more than the total population of Europe, the Americas and Oceania put together. CWI president Dr Kishore Swallow announced recently that a domestic T20 competition in 2025 is in the works to determine which country will represent the region at the Olympics. It has been touted that six teams might be considered for the Olympics, but I am confident with the significant influence of the ICC it could be as many as eight teams. This is not a West Indies team, by the way; each country would have to stand on their own feet, as the Olympics caters for countries and not groups of countries. Ricky Ponting, former Australian captain, said, “I’ve sat on various committees over the last 15 to 20 years and it’s always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally it’s there! " As such, it is a wonderful opportunity for TT to vie for a place in the 2028 Olympics. Many years ago (2006), when Allen Stanford introduced T20 to these shores, TT was on top of its game, winning the regional tournament in 2008. As defending West Indian champions, TT was invited to the inaugural Champions League T20 in India in 2009, winning its first five matches, but eventually losing out in the final. Our local team was so good there were murmurs in the corridors of cricket that TT could have gone on its own – we did not need the rest of the West Indies. Well, that “dream” is now becoming reality. The mid-2010s were a golden age for a golden generation. In 2014, as many as seven Trinidadians were exposed to T20 cricket in the IPL. Daren Ganga (TT captain from 2006 to 2011) said “the team became a marketable brand. We had National Gas companies and tourism companies just pumping money into TT cricket because we had a global team.” However, the question is do we have enough time? With the amount of franchise cricket taking place worldwide, the powers that be (CWI and ICC) would be hard-pressed to find a window of opportunity to host such a tournament. It would, however, be an opportunity to see which players put country before self. Roller also said, “What’s in the water of TT that makes it churn out some of the biggest names in the format? Bravo, Pollard and Narine are unequivocally T20 legends who have shaped the format’s evolution." He added Badree, Ramdin, Rampaul and Simmons (Lendl) to the list, as players winning the T20 World Cup. And it does not stop there. The women, Merissa Aguilleira, Britney Cooper, Stacy-Ann King and Anisa Mohammed, won the Women’s World T20 Cup in 2016. “It’s a haven for T20 cricketers,” added Ganga, a former West Indies captain who led TT in 36 of its first 37 T20s. Can our new generation led by Nicholas Pooran, one of the most sought-after players on the global circuit, ably supported by the number two ranked Akeal Hosein on the T20I bowling rankings, and our formidable Test fast bowler Jayden Seales lead us to Olympic stardom? The dream is on! TERRENCE KALLOO via e-mail The post T20 Olympic dream is on appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.