“I’m lost for words to say how monumental it is,” exclaims Dr. Balakrishnan Sreekumar. The Chairman of Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA) is describing the pride he felt watching the U19 men’s team make history, by becoming the first national cricket team to achieve World Cup qualification in any format. The U19 boys also became the second ever national team in any sport to qualify for a World Cup, after the U17 Women’s Football team had qualified for the FIFA Women’s U17 World Cup in 2022.
“Look, the most popular sport here, like rest of Africa, is football. And unfortunately, there is a pervasive feeling in Tanzania that cricket is only played by rich Indians. However, if you look at our World Cup squad, except for three Indian heritage players, our entire squad is made up of ethnic Tanzanians. For us, this has been the biggest positive as far as we are concerned,” he opines.
“Look, the most popular sport here, like rest of Africa, is football. And unfortunately, there is a pervasive feeling in Tanzania that cricket is only played by rich Indians. However, if you look at our World Cup squad, except for three Indian heritage players, our entire squad is made up of ethnic Tanzanians. For us, this has been the biggest positive as far as we are concerned,” he opines.