In a bid to capitalise on China’s renewed interest in cricket following the sport’s Olympic inclusion, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta says the world body would support the national association in staging a Tier 2 event soon besides assisting with setting up a Centre of Excellence in the country.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, Gupta said making cricket more accessible, and promoting the women’s game are also part of the expansion plans. The possibilities are enormous if the ICC is able to gain a stronghold in China whose massive population rivals the game’s behemoth India.
“We also received commitments for programmes to be launched in schools across provinces such as Shandong and Tianjin.
The ICC is already working with its member, the Chinese Cricket Association (CCA), to set up a centre of excellence on the lines of the ICC Academy in Dubai, said Gupta, who took charge in July. The immediate goal of both the ICC and the CCA is to have cricket included in China’s National Games, which will give the sport national prominence and drive adoption of the sport across provinces,” said Gupta.
“The Asian Games have also given cricket meaningful visibility in China, particularly following the Hangzhou Games in 2022, and deeper integration into the country’s domestic sporting structure would be a significant step.
“The CCA has expressed a strong desire to institute, with ICC’s support, a centre of excellence, along the lines of the ICC Academy in the UAE, to fast-track player development and enhance facilities available for high-performance programs,” said Gupta. “Cricket’s return to the Olympic Games at LA28 is changing the context in which the sport is viewed in markets that have ignored or not developed consideration for it,” Gupta said. Cricket’s inclusion in China’s National Games could supercharge the momentum,” said Gupta. “This is how you begin to embed a sport more deeply into the system – by creating pathways, encouraging provinces to invest, developing coaches and facilities, making the sport more visible and ultimately giving more young people the opportunity to play,” he said.
“Olympic inclusion gives cricket greater relevance within institutional sporting systems and can open the door to greater government attention, investment, infrastructure and player development. We are already seeing these dynamics play out in markets such as China,” he reasoned.
