Dalmiya accepts China challenge

India, Pakistan and China may be playing a triangular series match in the next five years. That8217;s the dream Jagmohan Dalmiya held out t...

India, Pakistan and China may be playing a triangular series match in the next five years. That8217;s the dream Jagmohan Dalmiya held out to luminaries of the cricketing world, who had gathered to cheer the ex-BCCI president on being felicitated by the on its 25th anniversary.

In fact, taking cricket to China was a task bestowed on him by none other than J A Mangan, deputy executive editor of the International Journal of the History of Sport, who couldn8217;t stop praising Dalmiya for his role in reviving cricketing ties between India and South Africa and later, between India and Pakistan.

The ex-boss of ICC and BCCI was honoured on Saturday night as 8216;8216;one of the world8217;s best sports administrators8217;8217; by the journal, and he rose to the occasion as well. 8216;8216;You have heard that the laws of cricket are being written in Chinese. English is not a very popular language there. We are also exposing them to films on cricket so that they can understand the game,8217;8217; Dalmiya told The Sunday Express.

8216;8216;Though a test match or an ODI seems a bit far-fetched at the moment, an under-15 or under-18 match seems to be the need of the hour. It may take another five years for the triangular series to mature,8217;8217; said an optimistic Dalmiya, now heading the Asian Cricket Council.

Even Peter Chingoka, chairman of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, was enthusiastic about Dalmiya8217;s brand new role. 8216;8216;We8217;ve always looked at Dalmiya as a visionary. You must never forget that China is a country with a population on one billion, and if cricket becomes big in South East Asia, you cannot ignore China,8217;8217; said Chingoka.

This was seconded by Bob Merriman of Australia, who had flown to Kolkata with his wife for the grand occasion. 8216;8216;I met Dalmiya way back in 1979. The Australian team was in Kolkata in that year. During his tenure with the ICC, we saw how he brought the cricket-loving nations together. When Dalmiya began in 1997, only 47 countries were members of the ICC. Today, it has gone up to 97. And as for the China plan, we will try and support his efforts by offering some coaching in Australia,8217;8217; said Merriman.