New Delhi:New Delhi and Male have a new diplomatic playing ground- the Cricketing pitch. As part of its commitment to develop the cricket ecosystem in the island nation of Maldives, India will soon be coaching the national Maldivian teams in Chennai.
The Indian Embassy in Male today issued a formal release announcing that the Maldivian Men’s and Women’s National Teams will travel to Chennai next month for a ‘one-month intensive training program’. A week-long Level-2 Training Course for Maldivian coaches concluded last week on 14th November.
Following up on last week’s training, two BCCI umpire coaches led by Shavir Tarapore will conduct Level-2 Umpiring Courses from 19th to 26th of November. Tarapore, who is on the panel of umpires for ICC (International Cricket Council), will during his stay train some 23 local Maldivian umpires.
In March this year during the visit of the former foreign minister late Sushma Swaraj, Male in a surprise request asked the Indian government to help build a cricket stadium in the atoll nation.
Ahead of Narendra Modi’s visit to the Maldives in June this year post his resounding electoral victory, New Delhi agreed to the request which would also pave the way for deeper 'people to people' connect with the strategically located archipelago nation.
During his official visit on June 8, Narendra Modi also gifted President Ibrahim Solih a bat signed by all players of the Indian national cricket team which was then in England for the World Cup.
Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih, an avid cricket fan himself, is believed to be inspired in his decision by India’s positive role in nurturing Afghan cricket. Following an agreement between the BCCI and Afghanistan Cricket Board in 2015, cricketers from war-torn Afghanistan were allowed to practice at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Noida adjacent to Delhi. Today Afghan players like Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are stars of the international cricketing arena and household names in India courtesy the IPL (Indian Premier League). It was India that helped Afghanistan qualify for Test-playing status.
Taking forward the soft power of cricket diplomacy, India has extended a line of credit to build Maldives’s first cricket stadium at Hulhumale, an island south of the North Male atoll and also to train young Maldivian aspiring cricketers and its national teams to further boost its neighbourhood policy.
The ICC gave the green signal to the Maldives earlier this year following which it made its T20 international debut in January.
