 Ayes for Gilchrist's idea of T20 in Olympics
5th Aug 2008 22:03 IST
Agencies
Former Australian star Adam Gilchrist's idea that "(Twenty20) cricket should bid to become an Olympic sports" has received ayes from the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Steve Waugh and Stephen Fleming who feel it would be a superb vehicle to globalise the game.
Gilchrist feels cricket should be included as an Olympic sport if it had to grow and widen its horizons and it was the right time to begin the process for pushing it in the 2020 edition quadrennial extravaganza.
Ganguly, the former India skipper, said the move would give a chance to cricketers to become a part of the "worldwide movement".
"It will help the players to be part of a worldwide movement. Cricket is an exciting sport and should definitely be part of the Olympics," Ganguly, currently in Sri Lanka for a three-match Test series, was quoted as saying in the international media.
Waugh, a former Australian captain and the mentor of his country's Olympic team in Beijing, said the idea mooted by Gilchrist was "definitely worth pursuing".
"If you want to globalise the game then you have to look at including countries like China and the United States, and getting cricket into the Olympics will fast-track that move," Waugh told the 'Press Association.'
Waugh led Australia to a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and described the moment as one of the most cherished of his career.
"Winning the silver medal was one of the highlights of my career," Waugh said.
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