'If you want to spread the T20 game then it could be the way to go' - Ravi Shastri backs the idea of two different teams

Talks regarding including the game of cricket in the Olympics are nothing new. Many in the cricket fraternity have supported the idea of expanding the sport and getting global recognition by taking cricket to the Olympics.

Former Indian cricketer and the current head of the coach national team Ravi Shastri also supported the idea of the Olympics but argued that the nations need to have two teams to host more games and involve more countries. 

Team India is scheduled to play the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand from June 18 to June 22 at Southampton. The final will be followed by India facing England in a five-match Test series.

While the main Indian squad will be busy playing the Test fixtures, BCCI has decided to field a different India team for the tour of Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series. Speaking about the lucrative prospect of having two Indian teams, Ravi Shastri clarified that at present it is just a temporary measure due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, the head coach didn’t rule out the possibility of having two different teams in the future. Ravi believed that the only way to expand cricket is by hosting more games and that will happen only when countries have two different teams.

Ravi Shastri opens up 

“Well, you never know. At the moment, it’s happening because of the current situation, the restrictions on travel and things of that sort. But you never know, in the future if you want to expand the game, especially in the shorter formats, it could be the way to go.

“You know, why not? When you have that much volume of cricketers and if you want to spread the T20 game across the globe then that could be the way ahead,” Ravi Shastri said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday, June 2.

It is speculated that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is targeting the 2028 Olympic events, scheduled in Los Angeles to make cricket a part of it. Speaking about the same, Shastri said, “If you are talking about the Olympics in four or eight years’ time then you need more countries and it could be the way forward.”