Rahul Dravid is in the French city to attend a panel discussion on a theme titled ‘Cricket at the Olympics: Dawn of a New Era.’
An ardent supporter of cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics, the legendary Rahul Dravid said on Sunday that players are excited and that he has heard “serious dressing room conversations” about competing in the world’s biggest sports event.Rahul Dravid is in the French city to attend a panel talk 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 heard a few conversations in the locker room already.” “People are talking about the T20 World Cup in 2026, the ODI World Cup in 2027, and the Olympics in 2028,” Rahul Dravid said during the conversation.
“People will want to win the gold medal, stand on the podium, and be a part of the Games Village. It will be a great sporting event, and there will be a lot of athletes to talk to.”
“As you get closer, I have no question that teams will be preparing and checking out facilities. “They’ll deal with this seriously, and players will do everything they can to be there,” he said.
The great batsman had ICC CEO Geoff Allardice for the company during the talk at India House here.
“While you’re growing up, you watch the Olympics and see great athletes like Carl Lewis win the gold medal. Awesome events like this are always something you want to be a part of. It’s a dream come true in terms of the energy and the surroundings. India had high hopes of winning both the men’s and women’s gold medals at the LA Games, according to Rahul Dravid.
My dream is for a great cricket event, and I hope that the Indian men and women win 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 stated.
“I’m sorry I won’t be able to play, but I will do everything I can to be in LA in some way.” If not anything else, I will try to get a media job,” joked Rahul Dravid, who ended his tenure as India’s head coach after the recent T20 World Cup victory.
At the LA Olympics, both the men’s and women’s cricket events will happen at the same time.
Defends 10.30 am10.30 am start to T20 World Cup matches in the US
On a different note, Rahul Dravid defended the timing of the T20 World Cup matches in the USA, saying that he didn’t mind that they began at 10:30 am.
India won their first ICC title in 11 years under Rahul Dravid’s leadership. The tournament, which the USA and West Indies co-hosted, had knockout games.
The USA having 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 10.30 am, which drew a bit of criticism.
Starting at 10:30 am was not a problem for me. Our job is to provide entertainment for people who want to watch sports. “I had no problem at all with it,” Rahul Dravid said
The former India player said the early start, in fact, meant it was “even-steven” for both the teams.
As a coach, I found the weather pretty even since dew plays a part in many day-night games. We saw in Australia that the toss can be very important. But for 10:30, it was not a problem; it was even- even for both teams.
“From a coaching perspective, I didn’t mind the 10:30 game.
“Yes, it is hard because of the facilities.” 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 great.
“It was a great job by the ICC to bring the game to the US and show it to new people there.” In the USA, people really love the game. Playing in the US was great; some games were really crowded. 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 strange to be here in Paris, seeing the energy around sport and how it’s getting together. Cricket is becoming more popular around the world.
“I believe cricket will be one of the most popular things to do in Los Angeles.”
“The last few days have seen some of the biggest stars in big sports compete in just a few cities at a time. For example, I watched Rafael Nadal play tennis this afternoon, and if you’re in Los Angeles, you can see the best tennis players, golfers, and cricketers in action.” We are going to be very, very strong come 2028,” he said.
Women’s cricket is going forward.
According to Rahul Dravid, women’s cricket is making good progress, and the fact that more young players are joining makes the sport more appealing and open to everyone.
“The game of women’s cricket is already getting better. It doesn’t need anything else. That’s great that it’s happening at the same time. Even when you talk to people at the grassroots level, to coaches, one of the things they constantly tell you is the amount of participation from young girls.
“The percentage grows by a huge amount every year at every academy, sometimes even more than the boys.” Cricket is getting a lot more appealing and open to everyone. This could be a job. You would not have said that five or six years ago. That is what we need to see. The Hindu TAP TAP AH AH
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