- Wednesday, November 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
They are competitors in various fields, including economy and technology, but China still lags India by far when it comes to cricket. While the South Asian nation remains a powerhouse in the game, its northern neighbour is yet to become a household name. But Beijing is taking long strides to emerge as a top cricketing nation and in a bid to achieve the goal, has reached out to its neighbour for support.
On Monday (22), the Chinese consul general in the Indian city of Kolkata in the eastern state of West Bengal gave a proposal to the state’s cricket body — the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for helping the game’s development in China.
A three-member delegation led by Chinese consul general Zha Liyou met CAB president Avishek Dalmiya with a proposal to set up cricketing relations with the Indian cricket body. It also sought help for improving the game in the Chinese city of Chongqing, located around 3,500 kilometres from Kolkata.
Dalmiya, who is the son of India’s legendary late cricket administrator and former International Cricket Council president Jagmohan Dalmiya, told Hindustan Times, “A Chinese delegation had come to CAB seeking our cooperation for the development of cricket in Chongqing City. We have assured our cooperation as we believe in the philosophy of spreading cricket globally and it is encouraging to see China taking the initiative to play the game.”
“We have always assisted Bhutan cricket, Bangladesh cricket board. We have various exchange programmes with Bangladesh. They want some friendly matches and exposure for their young kids. They want their kids to come here. Their coaches can come to take training from us. China is taking it very seriously,” he added.
Dalmiya also said, “Today they came, they expressed their willingness to have exchange programme we will assist them whether it is friendly matches, etc. We are always there for the growth of cricket. My father’s motto was globalisation and even when he was in the Asian Cricket Council, that’s when a lot of emphasis was placed on China so that they can also come up. They also appreciate the effort taken by my father.”
The proposal stated that the Cricket Association of Chongqing was keen to have cooperation with CAB to improve the level of cricket in the Chinese city.
The Chinese officials also proposed to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Indian cricket body by which they could send Chinese players to Kolkata for training.
China also aims to increase the scope of work with mutual visits, introduction of coaches and friendly matches, among various things.
