Kolkata: Italian cricketers Sunday held a special practice session with 32 children at the Eden Gardens before their historic first match against Scotland in the T20 World Cup February 9.
Girls and boys from Kolkata schools bowled, batted and got tips from the Italian cricketers on the ground.
The players also shook hands with the students and signed autographs on their T-shirts.
The international players expressed their joy and happiness for being with the children and cheered for them, UNICEF said in a press statement.
Appreciating the Italian team for squeezing in time to attend the ICC-UNICEF initiative of ‘Cricket 4 Good’, UNICEF West Bengal chief Monjur Hossain spoke about the importance of ‘Right to Play’ and creating ‘safe spaces for children in schools and neighbourhoods’ to play and learn for overall development.
“You have to have a place to play safely with confidence, joy and happiness. Together with ICC, UNICEF has been promoting the children’s right to play through the cricket clinic,” he said.
Expressing his excitement for the tournament and warm-up with the children, wicketkeeper and batter of Italy Gian-Piero Meade said, “We coached the kids and they shared a lot of experience and we had fun. It was so great to see the smiles on their faces during the session. The joy and excitement are quite palpable.”
Meade said a few of them were very technical and there were several good fast bowlers as he watched the boys when keeping the wicket.
Describing the tips and advice to be handy, Hiramon Bairagi, a budding all-rounder said it had been like a dream come true to meet these international players.
“The tips would be beneficial for me in my future matches. The interactions have been very motivational for me,” he said.
One of the coaches for Team Italy, Mohsin Sheikh said, “It is very encouraging to see these girls coming out and playing cricket. This clinic offered a scope for these youngsters to interact with the international players and get an opportunity to bat and bowl with them.”