Desk Report,
The country where cricket was banned in one city is now in the T20 World Cup
Hearing the news that Italy has qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup, another question may first arise in some people’s minds; does Italy also play cricket?
The country where cricket was banned in one city is now in the T20 World Cup
Actually, Italy is a football-mad country, everyone has known it for generations. Four-time world champions. Their top football league, Serie A, is one of the best in the world. Very few countries can compare to the tradition, success and list of legends of Italian football. If you are not familiar with the current affairs of the ICC partner countries, it is not wrong to be surprised to hear that Italy plays cricket. Some may joke and say that Italy is now the second country after England to win the football World Cup and the cricket World Cup!
Such hopes are certainly exaggerated. Italy has moved up four places to 28th place among countries in the ICC T20 rankings. This position is certainly promising among a total of 96 partner countries. That is good news, and getting the opportunity to play in the T20 World Cup for the first time will definitely create a wave of cricket among the youngsters in Italy. However, in this very Italy, cricket was banned in a city last year.
Cricket was banned by the mayor of the city of Monfalcone, which is located on the Adriatic coast. At that time, a BBC report revealed that Monfalcone was home to a little over 30,000 people. Almost a third of them are foreigners, most of them Bangladeshi Muslims. Mia Bappi, the captain of a cricket team playing outside the city of Monfalcone, told the BBC that the city authorities had told them, ‘Cricket is not for Italy.’
Hearing the news that Italy has qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup, another question may first arise in some people’s minds; does Italy also play cricket?
Actually, Italy is a football-mad country, everyone has known it for generations. Four-time world champions. Their top football league, Serie A, is one of the best in the world. Very few countries can compare to the tradition, success and list of legends of Italian football. If you are not familiar with the current affairs of the ICC partner countries, it is not wrong to be surprised to hear that Italy plays cricket. Some may joke and say that Italy is now the second country after England to win the football World Cup and the cricket World Cup!
Such hopes are certainly exaggerated. Italy has moved up four places to 28th place among countries in the ICC T20 rankings. This position is certainly promising among a total of 96 partner countries. That is good news, and getting the opportunity to play in the T20 World Cup for the first time will definitely create a wave of cricket among the youngsters in Italy. However, in this very Italy, cricket was banned in a city last year.
Cricket was banned by the mayor of the city of Monfalcone, which is located on the Adriatic coast. At that time, a BBC report revealed that Monfalcone was home to a little over 30,000 people. Almost a third of them are foreigners, most of them Bangladeshi Muslims. Mia Bappi, the captain of a cricket team playing outside the city of Monfalcone, told the BBC that the city authorities had told them, ‘Cricket is not for Italy.’
