Italy may have lost their T20 World Cup debut match to Scotland on Monday, but the team won many hearts a day earlier at Eden Gardens.
On Sunday, the Italian players shared a net session with 32 teenagers from Calcutta, bowling to them, stopping many a boundary while allowing a few through, and spending time interacting with the youngsters. The children returned home with signed T-shirts and memories for a lifetime.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Gian-Piero Meade was impressed by some of the fast bowlers and their technical ability as he observed them closely from behind the stumps.
“We coached the kids, they shared their experiences, and it was fun. It was great to see the smiles on their faces during the session. The joy and excitement were quite palpable,” Meade said.
The 50-minute interaction was part of the ICC-Unicef initiative, Cricket 4 Good.
The initiative is aimed at promoting sport as a tool for children’s development. Several children who attended the session have little or no access to formal coaching. Over the years, and especially after the Covid pandemic, schools have struggled to encourage young people to return to outdoor sports. Increasingly, the competition has come from screens that prove more alluring than playgrounds.
Even among those who do play, many do so in indoor arenas rather than in the sun and sweat of open grounds.
One of the Italian team’s coaches, Mohsin Sheikh, was particularly encouraged by the participation of girls. “It is encouraging to see girls coming out to play cricket. This was an opportunity for all the children to play with international players,” he said.
India’s triumph over South Africa in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 has provided fresh momentum for girls’ cricket.
Fourteen-year-old Anushka Sarkar said her biggest takeaway from the interaction was a reminder to enjoy the game.
“The players told us we should enjoy cricket rather than worry about what will happen later. They also stressed the importance of fitness to play well.”
Unicef’s chief in Bengal, Monjur Hossain, spoke of the importance of children’s right to play: “You have to have a place to play safely with confidence, joy and happiness. Together with the ICC, Unicef has been promoting this right to play through the cricket clinic.”
