Published 15:04 IST, January 13th 2021
Kumar Sangakkara hints at THIS format to be cricket's claim to fame in the Olympic Games
Just days prior to the launch of Abu Dhabi T10 2021, former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara had his say about cricket making its way to the Olympics soon.
Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara recently became the latest advocator for cricket’s inclusion into the Olympics. Interestingly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also discussed about the same during their Annual General Meeting (AGM) back in December 2020. Sangakkara believes that while it is about time cricket is included in the Olympics, the ‘T10 format has a great potential’ to do it.
Kumar Sangakkara bats for cricket in Olympics ahead of Abu Dhabi T10 and IPL 2021
Kumar Sangakkara is scheduled to mentor Team Abu Dhabi in the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this month. During a media interaction, the legendary batsman said that the T20 format has already had a big push to be included in the Olympics. Sangakkara, the MCC President, believes that a “more condensed version” like T10 is likely to work for audiences in this case.
Kumar Sangakkara said that T10 has a “great potential” to push cricket into Olympic Games, especially after the advent of Major League Cricket USA. According to him, the T10 format has already worked among audiences in UAE with Abu Dhabi T10 tournament and it will also take the game to the US markets.
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Major League Cricket USA
Before cricket can make its way into the Olympics, it will enter the American market in the form of Major League Cricket USA. It was recently announced by USA Cricket in association with American Cricket Enterprises. Moreover, the ambitious project also received an IPL injection in the form of Kolkata franchise. The Kolkata IPL team owners announced that they will be investing in the T20 tournament. On December 1 last year, Venky Mysore took to Twitter and confirmed about their partnership.
IPL 2021 updates
While several cricketing legends like Kumar Sangakkara and even Eoin Morgan and Chris Gayle have championed T10 to be the ideal cricket’s vehicle for Olympics, the T20 format continues to gain traction and popularity each year with popular leagues like IPL.
The Indian T20 tournament will now move ahead with the upcoming IPL 2021 season. While yet to be officially confirmed, it is scheduled to launch sometime in April, i.e. right after India’s home series against England.
Image source: AP
Updated 15:04 IST, January 13th 2021