Tendulkar and Warne bat for Twenty20 cricket’s inclusion in Olympics

Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne opine that Twenty20 is the ideal format for making the sport accessible at the Olympics.

All-time cricket greats Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne have been the fiercest of competitors on the cricket field. But the two legends get along really well off it. Post their retirements, both have been involved with cricket in some way or the other. While Warne played the franchise based cricket in India and Australia with a view of grooming the young talent, Tendulkar took advisory role with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Two of them recently came together for the ‘All-stars league’, a Twenty20 (T20) tournament that involves the retired greats of the game. The league has been conceptualised by Warne and Tendulkar and both will captain the rival teams in the league that will be played in the United States of America (USA) next month with the idea of promoting the game in the country.

When the two recently attended a BBC show as guests, they opined that Twenty20 is the ideal format for making the sport accessible at the Olympics. “I’d love to see it as an Olympic sport and, who knows, down the track it might be,” Warne said during the show. Tendulkar was quick to second him by saying, “I think it’s a great idea and I reckon T20 is the best format for it.”

Cricket’s last Olympic outing came in the year 1900, when Great Britain took on France in Paris. With the two legends backing for cricket’s Olympic bid, the  pressure on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to reverse its resistance to the concept on the grounds that it might dilute the sport’s existing competitions, is bound to increase.