Olympics...

Written by Ravi Singh

Friday, 12 January 2007

(There is a lot of talk now with several big name cricketers following Gilchrist into pushing Cricket into the 2020 Olympics. But this isn't the first time the idea has been mentioned.

Several months ago, in fact a year and a half back, to be precise, Holdingwilley had put up an article suggesting that cricket bodies of significance make a serious move to get cricket a place in the Olympics.

We republish that article here on HW Classics, a section where we relive articles written in the past which are timeless. These are the articles which grow on you with each reading (well, that's what we feel anyway) and therefore, probably shouldn't be relegated to the back pages of the site.)

I once wrote to the International Olympic Committee and asked them why cricket was not part of the Olympics. The Olympics is arguably the most watched sports feature in the world, ranked there with the FIFA World Cup. My thoughts were, if they could have a sport, say, such as beach volleyball, a little known and played sport, why was cricket, a sport watched by billions and has followings on every continent, not part of the competition? Their answer was simply that they did not have a request from the ICC – International Cricket Council, to have the sport as art of the games.

I followed up with an e-mail to the IOC. My logic was that cricket, being such a popular sport, should be part of the competition. I understood that test cricket was out of the question. It takes simply to long. I understood that one day cricket again could be to long. My thoughts then turned to 20-20 cricket. Here was a shortened version of the game that all cricket playing countries could participate in, and be the perfect showboat to promote the sport. The IOC reply was that cricket for the Olympics was not part of their agenda right now. Cricket has it’s own World Cup and it’s test series. There would be no time for the Olympics.

The IOC has its points. Cricketers all over have complained that the workload is too much, imagine trying to compete in another event such as the Olympics? However, I think this can be overcome. In the same way that football at the Olympics is played, with a youth team of non-professionals sent to compete, the same can be done for cricket.

Imagine a 20-20 format full of the best upcoming youngsters from around the world, this could be a real hit. Look for example at the recent Sanford 20-20 series in the West Indies, it uncovered some really good talent, and it was so popular with the crowds. The basis for selection again could be simple. The players on each team would have to have played a minimum number of first class matches, and must be under a certain age. This would ensure that only the most promising are selected. I wonder how many footballers from Brazil who played in the Olympics went on to represent their country or play for international teams? Look at Ronaldo!

I look forward to comments on this idea. There are those in the cricket fraternity who do not take 20-20 cricket seriously, but it is here and it pulls the crowds. That’s enough to encourage it.

(Click here to know more about Ravi)

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