Here’s what Rahul Dravid said on cricket’s inclusion in Olympics

PTI, Jul 29, 2024, 8:26 AM IST

Paris: An ardent supporter of cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics, the legendary Rahul Dravid on Sunday said players are excited and he has heard “serious dressing room conversations” about competing in the world’s biggest sporting event.

Dravid is in the French capital to attend a panel discussion on a theme titled ‘Cricket at the Olympics: Dawn of a New Era’, celebrating the sport’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“I’ve already heard a few conversations in the dressing room. People are talking about the 2026 T20 World Cup, there is an ODI World Cup in 2027, and you hear people saying there is the Olympics in 2028,” Dravid said during the discussion.

“People are going to want to win that gold medal, stand on the podium, and be a part of the Games Village, a great sporting event, and interact with so many athletes.

“As you get closer, I have no doubt that teams will be preparing and checking out facilities. They will take this seriously, and players will fight tooth and nail to be out there,” he added.

The great batsman had ICC CEO Geoff Allardice for company during the discussion at India House here.

“You grow up watching the Olympics, seeing Carl Lewis winning the gold medal, watching the great athletes perform. You always want to be part of great events like this. The environment, the energy — it’s a dream come true.”

Dravid hoped that India would win both the men’s and women’s gold medals at the LA Games.

“The dream for me to have a fantastic cricket tournament, hopefully Indian men and women winning the gold which would be nice.

“But more than that I wish for everyone here… So many Indian fans would be able to come there to LA and support cricket, and show the rest of the world how big and great a sport cricket is,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play, but I will make every effort to be in LA in some capacity or another. If not anything else, I will try to get a media job,” joked Dravid, who ended his tenure as India head coach after the recent T20 World Cup triumph.

The men’s and women’s cricket competitions will run concurrently at the LA Olympics.

Defends 10.30am start to T20 World Cup matches in US

Moving to a different topic, Dravid defended the timing of matches in the T20 World Cup in the USA, saying he was fine with the 10.30am start.

Dravid coached India to their first ICC title in 11 years in the tournament hosted jointly by the USA and West Indies, where the knockout matches were played.

The USA hosting a cricketing showpiece for the first time was seen as a stepping stone to building a fan base in the region ahead of the Olympics.

But, in order to cater to the huge audience in the subcontinent, all India matches were held from 10.30am, which attracted a bit of criticism.

“I don’t think starting at 10:30am was a problem for me, honestly. We are in the entertainment business, which caters to people who want to watch the sport. I had absolutely no problem with it,” Dravid said.

The former India player said the early start, in fact, ensured it was “even-steven” for both the teams.

“As a coach, the conditions were quite even because dew becomes a factor in a lot of day-night games. The toss can become a big factor, as we saw in Australia. But for 10:30, it was not a problem; it was even-steven for both teams.

“From a coaching perspective, I didn’t mind the 10:30 game.

“Yes, in terms of facilities, it’s challenging. But if you want to grow the sport and make it a global game, then you have to be at events like this and make compromises, even if it means playing at odd hours in conditions that might not necessarily be perfect.

“It was a great effort by the ICC to take the game to the USA and expose that audience to the game. There is a huge passion for the game in the USA. It was really nice to play in the USA; some of the games were packed.”

As far as Allardice is concerned, he said cricket will be one of the “star attractions” in LA four years from now.

“It’s quite surreal to be here in Paris, seeing the energy around sport and how it’s getting together. Cricket is starting to dawn on the global sporting community.

“I think cricket will be one of the star attractions in Los Angeles.

“Just going around a few of the sports in the last few days, when you see global stars of big sports around the world competing in one city at a time — watching Rafael Nadal at tennis this afternoon — and then if you are in LA, you can watch the best tennis players, best golfers, and the best cricketers. We are going to be very, very strong come 2028,” he said.

Women’s cricket is going forward

Dravid said women’s cricket is progressing well and increasing participation by young players is making the sport more inclusive and attractive.

“Women’s cricket is already going forward. I don’t think it needs anything else. It’s fantastic to have it going on concurrently. Even when you talk to people at the grassroots level, to coaches, one of the things they constantly tell you is the level of participation from young girls.

“Every year in every academy, the percentage is growing exponentially, sometimes even more than the boys. Cricket is becoming a lot more inclusive and attractive. This could potentially be a career. You would not have said that five or six years ago. That’s what we want to see.”