David White said that India has a huge market for cricket, which makes it a must have for Olympics.
New Zealand cricket board CEO David White feels that having the sport in the Olympics would be a massive boost due to the Indian market. He said in an interview to tvnz, “Cricket is a global sport and for the Olympic movement to include India into the Olympics will be massive from a broadcast point of view. India is 18% of the world’s population.”
When asked if Olympics would criticise cricket for being a long format game, White said, “20-20 is a new form and it has captured the world. It is fast and will give smaller countries the opportunity to participate in the tournament.”
“In the next few years, you will be seeing T20 being played on artificial surfaces, so you won’t hear the same issues of the grass. Majority of cricketers play on artificial surfaces. I don’t think it will be too much of a constraint otherwise. You get a more true bounce and it makes more sense.”
On the recently concluded Women’s World Cup that took place in England, White said, “There is a revolution going around right now with the women sport and cricket is at the forefront currently. The success of women’s world cup in England was just brilliant and we are holding the next World Cup in 2021 in New Zealand. We are very excited about it.
