CHENNAI: On a breezy Tuesday evening, the Italian cricket team quietly went about their business at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here. They had taken the field in the first warm-up against Canada and walked away with a 10-run win.
A result that will give The Azzurri big boost as they gear up for their debut show at the biggest stage. The football giants from Europe will embark on a new journey when they take the field against Scotland in their opening game of the T20 World Cup at Eden Gardens on February 9.
The road to this point has been long and arduous. They came close to qualifying for the 2024 edition before finally making the cut two years later. For a team just starting to make a mark at the global stage, Italy is filled with individuals who have taken it upon themselves to pursue the passion of cricket and contribute to the lineage and heritage they have with the country. And they come from all over the world.
They have several players from Australia whose ancestors left Italy during the war in the 20th century and in the decades that followed, like the Manenti brothers (Ben and Harry) or the Mosca brothers (Anthony and Justin). Similarly, there are players from South Africa (JJ Smuts and captain Wayne Madsen) and England as well who have their family roots in Italy. There is Jaspreet Singh, who moved from Punjab to Italy. Zain Ali's father, a doctor, moved from Pakistan to the country. Ali is now a mechanical engineer who plays cricket. At 15, Crishan Kalugamage moved from Sri Lanka to Lucca, a town in central Italy. Then there are coaches like Peter di Venuto (Italian-Australian), former Ireland batter Kevin O'Brien who have come together for an unified dream
However, it is not a team of expats like a few other sides in the competition. This team carries players and people who are connected to Italy and have roots and family there. Their skipper Madsen felt the multi-cultural people from different countries and backgrounds with Italian roots bring a certain value to the group. "I mean, the heritage. It's actually quite hard to describe, but the bond that we have as a group, the humour, the continuity in certain aspects of our lives," he told this daily. "Then the stories of everyone to where we have got to. It's something that bonds us and it brings that togetherness to the group. We have that fire and passion on the field and we take it from what we have off. So, the combination really, really works and gels well together," he added.
