In Italy, famous for its four FIFA World Cup titles — second only to Brazil’s five — cricket has been struggling to find a foothold for quite some time now.
The debutants at the 2026 T20 World Cup hope to do enough during the month-long tournament to make the leap and have more people, particularly those from their country, take notice.
“With all the buzz around it and the [huge] television coverage, we have an opportunity to make an impact,” skipper Wayne Madsen, on Sunday, the eve of their opener against Scotland at the Eden Gardens here. Madsen, 42, who has played hockey for South Africa before seeking cricket pastures in the United Kingdom, and coach John Davison, a former skipper of Canada, spoke of the journey ahead, Simone Gambino was around to reveal how far they had come.
“There was a time when most in Italy thought the batsman and the bowler were on the same side while the fielders were the opponents; the 1992 World Cup saw coloured jerseys being introduced and it made explaining a lot easier,” quipped Gambino, now the Honourary Life President of the Italian board.
“The ICC has pumped in money trying to spread the game, but it’s about establishing the [cricket] culture, and that has to be done by the country,” added Gambino, who has been making trips to major cricket-playing countries for a few decades to explain the game better to his countrymen.
For a country, where Kabir Bedi is the most well-known Indian, and “hardly anyone has heard of Sachin Tendulkar”, the Italians are hoping this tournament will change all that.
