Club + Domestic League way forward for Nepal and Afghanistan

South Asia is the power hub of cricket and in South Asia two nations Nepal & Afghanistan are really rising very quickly. These 2 nations if go the right way can surely join the likes of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe or New Zealand soon.

Afghanistan has already established itself to be a top Associate / Affiliate Cricket Nation, which has rapidly progressed from Div 5 to Div 1 within a span of 4 years. Nepal also if going the present way can soon be seen playing the 2015 World Cup and getting an ODI status.

These 2 Associate unlike most Associate have a population crazy about cricket but like most of the associates the both countries are reliant on a small pool of players. Over that the playing XI depends on few stars to take them to victory. This is a very dangerous situation. When these stars fade away then the team can go in a downward spiral.

This was the case with Kenya who had got a good set of talented players in their ranks but without a domestic structure the replacements never came and now we all know in what state Kenya is.

Having known that a domestic structure is very important the question comes on the aspect of funding. Both Afghanistan Cricket Board and Cricket Association of Nepal are not rich enough or have funding like Test Nations to for a full comprehensive domestic structure. So how do we overcome the 2 dimensionally opposite issues

Typical village in Afghanistan & Nepal. Majority of population in these countries live in villages and essential for strong cricket team.

 To look for the answer we need to understand the demographics & geographical factors of both the countries which are quite similar in many aspects. Both the countries are mostly hilly regions with major cities located in broad valleys. Both the countries consist mostly of villages spread across the country with a few major cities. Afghanistan has cities spread out across the country while Nepal has it concentrated towards the Central and Eastern Parts.The Village is a very strongly knit unit in both the countries, where it is like a family and is headed by a Sarpanch in Nepal and a village elder in Afghanistan.

In such a scenario the to have a spread across the country it is very important to have players from the villages. India increased massively in strength when players from smaller cities started to come (Like the Captain Dhoni) against older days when most of the players came from bigger cities. India also has majority of Population in rural areas, and involving them surely is helping

Right Burkhashi in Afghanistan and Left Elephant polo in Nepal. Village level tournaments are already been organized in both the countries.

 Hence to reach the villages we need a club structure. By Club I do mean not a club like in England where some old folks are sitting drinking beer playing cards and watching a cricket match, with gentlemen claps. A club is a simply a team which can be formed by a village or some locality in the towns. It is not a concept which is something very new. It already happens in both the countries where the villages come together and play in some sort of tournaments. In Afghanistan Burkhashi the national game is a example of the same, while in Nepal, Elephant Polo or local soccer matches or volleyball matches keep happening

The Point is about making such tournament more structured and monitoring them in an efficient way. To start with such tournaments can easily be financed. Firstly to start with to register a club a nominal annual fee can be charged. When we have such a local club tournament a minor entry fee can be can be charged from each team. Then secondly local sponsors can be roped in. The local tournament normally have local sponsors and these need not be the exotic ones like Pepsi etc but can be a local business, who would want the tournament to be named after his late Father or some big shop or some local business. It is a great point to maximize the reach in local areas.

Hence the local club tournaments can not only be made self sustainable but rather can earn some small profits out of them. However based on local tournament you can unearth some good players but will not be able to give them good exposure. For that a Domestic Set up is essential

The Domestic Set up should be based out of provinces or major cities. These countries ideally should not have more than 6 to 8 teams in the domestic set up. These can be regions like West, North etc or Based around major cities. Each domestic set up should have a catchment areas in which all the local clubs will be registered to it. Hence the domestic team say a Kabul or Kathmandu may have clubs from the city and the surrounding villages. It will choose its player roster from these clubs. For Financing it will have some income from clubs, conducting tournament and then would receive certain funding from ACB or CAN. This would help it in paying some money to the domestic players who then would give more time for the domestic tournaments.

The Domestic tournament can be conducted with 2 day, 1 day and T20 matches spread around the playing season and ensuring that it is played on the weekly off days. The team play half of the matches in it's home ground and would travel for rest of it's matches. This would mean that people can work on weekdays and play cricket on weekly off days throughout the year rather than playing for 2 weeks and not playing for rest of year. This continuity would definitely improvement fitness and mental ability of the players

This Club + Domestic structure ensure that a good set of some 90 to 160 Players will be playing some quality cricket at domestic level, earning a small money from it while maintaining their regular lives and jobs. The Clubs would help in providing a constant stream of talent for the teams and a good player has a fair chance of making it into the national team

All these things might look very easy but it would definitely need a lot of effort from the boards and definitely dedication. If the system is implemented soon the quality of team can definitely improve many fold and we may see these teams challenging the best. Let's hope for it and see it happening soon.

Cricket's gateway to Central Asia

In the recent World T20 world, one team really impressed and surprised everybody. Not many could imagine that a country which has been under war for more than 30 years could perform so well. Afghanistan with it's battery of pacers and swashbuckling batsman impressed the whole world and perhaps is taking all the right steps towards becoming a good team.

When I heard about Afghanistan team playing against a local Peshawar club I could never imagined that one day, Australia would agree to play an ODI against the same team and surprisingly many players were part of both the teams. Afghans learned cricket when they were in refugee camps in Pakistan. Many of the Pakistani stars were Pashtun's like Imran Khan, the largest ethnic group of Afghanistan and it became very attractive to Afghans. When in 1992 a Pashtun Imran Khan lead Pakistan to World Cup victory this has an immediate connect and liking for the game. Thus the game entered Afghanistan

Afghanistan cricketers not surprisingly belonged to only one group Pashtuns, and the other Ethnic groups were not represented such as Tajiks, Hazara, Uzbek or Turkmen. This was not surprising since mostly Pashtuns came to Pakistan while others went to other countries like Tajikistan, Iran etc which were not cricket country.

However overtime things began to change. The game of Cricket became a proud symbol of representing Afghanistan. Now besides Pashtun the other ethnic groups also started to relate to the game. Teams and Clubs were there in almost all the states. Cricket truly has started to become a national game. The U-19 team for first time had youngsters across the ethnic groups.

It is a matter of time when, we will soon have a composite team in Afghanistan. This has already started to sow the seeds of Cricket possibly becoming a major sport in many other countries. Afghanistan shares ethnic group across borders. Pashtun are spread across Afghanistan and Pakistan, Tajiks across Tajikistan and Afghanistan, Uzbek similarly across Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, Hazara share religion with Iran, Turkmen with Turkmenistan and finally Baloch across Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iran.

Afghanistan and it's location in Central Asia

With the Afghan's having relations across many borders, with the game engrossed in the nation, it would mean that sooner or later seeing the passion with their relatives across the borders the game is bound to spread in the Central Asian nations of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and in the Middle East country of Iran.

This means that like the Geopolitical Strategic importance of Afghanistan, similarly it is of the same importance to ICC. With Central Asia playing cricket, it would draw interest in many other areas like former Soviet nations and many more middle east populations. But that is a thought too far for this time. The Central Asian countries have shown their mark in many sports and these athletic people surely can make some great cricket teams.

So Afghanistan becomes a really important nation for Afghanistan. Not only ICC can establish Cricket as a game which will bring peace to Afghanistan, by helping the country, but it naturally helps many more countries come to fold of cricket. Let's hope to see a cracking cricket team of Tajikistan or Iran playing a cricket match against India in near future.

10 Countries where ICC should invest in

Cricket has been rapidly expanding around the globe. There are now highest ever 106 members of ICC with another 10 ready to join. There are talks of getting it in Olympics and the IOC chief really wants that too happen

But there is another side. The ICC revenue's primarily comes from one country India. There are not many countries from where ICC earns much. Perhaps the other surplus countries for ICC are Australia, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh & South Africa.

The ICC works on a system where the profit it makes, is distributed amongst the 10 Test Nations and other 96 Associate/Affiliate Members in form of development money. This is in tune of approximately 7.5 M$/Yr to a Test Nation, 0.6-0.7 M$ to Top Associates, 0.4 to HPP Members, 0.1 to Associates and just 0.015 to Affiliate Members. This money is major source of income for almost all the 106 members baring a few named above. Without the aid the cricket in countries would simply collapse.

So this brings in a question, can ICC risk the present structure. In my opinion a big NO & for the following reason- All the eggs in one basket- India. If tomorrow another sport rivals Cricket in India it would directly impact the source of money for ICC and it could be disastrous.

So ICC is like a financial company who should want to hedge it's risk. So based on the factors of Sports Economy, present interest, History of game in all the countries, I have picked a list of 10 countries. Some countries presently are in good shape when it comes to cricket's standing in the country, but might not be very big countries. These countries are like low hanging fruits, where ICC should quickly work, and make the country self sustainable. Whatever little additional income these countries bring would mean ICC is earning and not spending in these countries
The second set of the countries would be where game might have some base, but if established there would bring ICC loads of revenue's

So let me share with you, the 10 countries where ICC should definitely invest for the future

1. Ireland
Obviously it is the first country which comes in mind. 2 successful World Cups, has made news both inside the country and outside. The win over England was covered on the front pages of all the newspapers. It is where ICC should invest in 2 ways, first is to get the team more matches with Test Nations which bring some revenue's and secondly a domestic structure.

2. Scotland
The Scots have really worked hard on the youth and many good players are coming in. Cricket has a strong tradition in the country and the future looks good. Like Ireland ICC needs to get them more matches. Also like the case of Rugby, where Wales, Scotland & Ireland have a combined domestic structure, ICC should work and establish a similar Structure for Scotland, Ireland & Netherlands and if need be extend it to Denmark & Wales.

3. Canada
The game is now well known in the country thanks to the absolute cricket loving 1.4 Million South Asian out of a population of 4%. Just imagine even if another 10% of country starts following cricket it would mean a population more than New Zealand. The game has been making right noises. The World T20 will be broadcast live on a major sports channel. This country needs some focus from ICC and it can be a major revenue earning country for ICC

4. Afghanistan
War ravaged, Terrorism, Taliban. Perhaps not the country you might be thinking for ICC to invest in. But do you know, that it has been one of the fastest emerging team. The Afghans are naturally talented. This can be seen by some of the best talent of Fast Bowlers emerging from the country. It must be noted that the legendary Pakistani fast bowlers are from the same tribes as the Afghans.
War or no war, this country once this teams goes raring there is no stopping. ICC urgently needs to get them more exposure in matches with top nations and their A teams

5. Nepal
The country has one of the biggest following of the game. When the team recently won the ICC WCL Div 4, thousands of fans turned at the Airport to welcome the team. Whenever they play a match in Nepal, 15000 people turn in the stadium.

Such level of crowd support can not be met by many Test Nations. These are placed where ICC needs to work faster

The game is the no 1 game like the other South Asian nations. The biggest investment ICC needs in the country is in form of a Stadium and help them establish domestic structure. With these investment the country can soon join the likes of top nations soon.

6. USA
USA doesn't need any explanations. The biggest sports economy in the world. For Cricket surprisingly the second highest internet earnings come from USA after India!!! The game is presently not in a healthy state in the country because of a pathetic Cricket board whose only job looks to be clinging to power and eating whatever money they have. The ICC investment besides monetary should be to get USACA, their board in order and then things will just flow.

7. Kenya
They had shown promise. ICC did not focus on them and then they lost their way. The country surely has got talent. Their board is now taking some steps to improve the game, but like most associate they also need exposure to better teams.

8. Netherlands
Netherlands can be the gateway of the game into mainland Europe, presently it is limited to British Isles. Netherlands have a strong cricketing culture but ICC needs to help developing the game at junior level and as already discussed help establish a Euro Domestic league involving Scot & Ire. If the game picks here then it is bound to spread to Denmark, Belgium & France. So this country is like the gateway to mainland Europe

9. China
China is the future. It is the superpower of sports. If China takes the game that means 20% of humanity has taken the game and along with South Asia that means half of the world is there. Not only by number of people, China is full of money and ICC can earns loads from here. What does ICC need to do, well simple, get the games in Olympics. We all know once the game is in Olympics China will get everything in it. Besides that ICC surely need to create many Coaching centers and Coached around the country which is the best way to spread the game. ICC would have to invest atleast for 10 years before expecting any returns

10 Argentina
Surprised. Well do you know before the World War, the Argentina Cricket team was almost as powerful as say the Kiwis. They had the largest British Population outside Britain. The game has a long history and at once time the game was more popular than Football. But with ICC's insistence of making members from commonwealth and British expats leaving the country, led to decline of the game.
Now why Argentina, the answer is simple. Cricket has got it's strongholds in all continents except South America. Also Cricket is to make a strong in Hispanic countries. So Argentina is the doorway. If the game develops here, then it has a good chance of taking it to South and Central America.

The ICC surely is doing some work but it is more general in nature. ICC needs to pick up countries as project and close them for maximum impact and let's hope it happens soon.

Associate XI in U19 WC based on Performance

The U19 WC is almost over. The Associates could not make it to the next round but there have been some good associate performances. Specially there have been some players who have stood firm and challenged the opposite teams.

The Associate XI have been formed based on the Overall Performance of the players, the consistency they have been showing and the value of their contributions in the match. You will not players who had one match winning performance and in the rest of the tournament were not to be seen. After all if I was a selector I will look on the overall performances.

The Associate XI has 6 Batsman, 1 om whom can do part time Bowling, 1 All Rounder & 4 Specialist bowlers including 2 Fast Bowler & 2 Spinners.

1. Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan)

This batsman was the backbone for Afghanistan batting line up. With his 204 in the tournament including a solid 69 against a close game against NZ & a critical 83 in a very critical match against the Scots this was the batsman the team could depend upon. This young lad has already made International Debut and he would be the star to look in the future.Today we maybe seeing him in action against Australia in a ODI

2. Javed Ahmadi (Afghanistan)

This right hand batsman is the highest scorer for Associates in the tournament. He was specially effective against Scotland with a century & half century against them. He also tried to resist against Pakistan and was handy with the ball taking some wickets. Like his counterpart he has already played for Afghanistan and maybe we see him in action against Australia in the only ODI at Sharjah.

3. CN Kent (PNG)

This young all rounder was the backbone for PNG. He got it all both a century and a five wicket haul and contributed in almost all the matches either with his batting or bowling. Like the Afghanistan players above he is also a member of PNG senior squad. Hopefully in near future he would be able to take his team to higher levels.

4. RE McLean (Scotland)

He is a great find for Scotland for future. He was the second highest scorer for the Associates with 2 half centuries. He performed very well in the league stages with a 36, 59 & 67 against NZ, Pak & Afg and then a swanky 47 against regional rivals Ireland ensuring a successful chase taking Scots to victory and securing 11th position for them. Looking for this name in future.

5. TE Kane (Ireland)

The Ireland batting has really disappointing tournament with not a single good performance to their name. He was the backbone of his team batting and ensured he was there stubbornly and fighting from his side like his 78 against Scotland which took Ireland to a respectable score. He also chipped in with his bowling and took a single wicket in all but one match.

6. FRJ Coleman (Scotland)

He was the mainstay of Scottish batting in the league stage with scores of 65, 39 & 30 and along with his team mate McLean ensured taking the Scots to respectable scores.

7. SP Khakurel (Nepal)

A team whose batting failed almost every-time with 2 times in double digits, it was encouraging to find a batsman who was fighting it out. Like TE Kane, SP Kakurel was the backbone of Nepali batting. His 55 against England showed the class this batsman had performing against a quality opposition. Nepal over the years have lost a lot of U19 players and I hope this batsman is not lost.

8. GH Dockrell (Ireland)

This young spinner has impressed everybody in the 2011 WC making even the top batsman struggle against him. He had high hopes to overcome and surely he exceeded expectations with a whopping tournament highest 22 Maiden overs, an Economy 2.05, and an Average of 12.3. His 22 Maiden & 2.05 Economy is far better than even players from Test Nations which can be seen from figures like 10-6-10-1 against Aus (Who are in Finals), 10-3-22-4 against Nepal, 10-5-8-1 against Namibia, 10-4-22-1 against Scotland. He was also handy with the bat. He surely is class and I said earlier would love to see him playing Test Cricket for Ireland one day

9. RK Vishvakarma (Nepal)

He was the third highest wicket taker in the tournament (An he played 1 match less). Against PNG he simply ripped them apart. The figures 6.2-4-3-6 speaks volume of his class, an economy of 0.47 the second best in U19 WC history. Lets hope to see the player ripping apart opposition in the WCL Div 4 the next tournament Nepal is playing

10. RAJ Smith (Scotland)

He was the second highest wicket taker for Associates with 12 wickets in the tournament. He spearheaded Scottish bowling with his Medium Pace specially with his 3/34 against Kiwis & 4/45 against the Afghans. He surely is another great find for Scotland who are really focusing on the youth. Hopefully we would be seeing him trouble the likes of Kohli's in the future.

11. Sayed Shirzad (Afghanistan)

Afghanistan has produced some great pace talents and Sayed Shirzad can be one of them. This speedster just knocked out the batsman at other end. His 4/34 against NZ & 3/33 against Scotland were clinical performances. Hopefully we can see him in action along with Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran soon


We should keep an track for all these players as many of them can turn out to be future stars for their country. Best of luck to all the players.

Associate Performer Squad Round 1- 2012 ICC U19 WC

The 2012 U19 is presently underway. The Associates teams sadly could not do very good. Each of the Associate team lost to the full members. Some of the matches specially of Scotland and Afghanistan have been close by overall the Associates were simply thrashed.


However said that there were few Associate Stars who showed their class. Given more exposure these players can turn out to be world class stars.

The performances of Associate players in round 1 would be of greater significance as these were against the stronger better side. The difference between Great and Good players is that Great player will show their mettle against a very good opposition while it may not be the case for Good players

The Associate Performers team is a list of 14 players who despite their teams performances performed well and showed their class

1. R.E. Mclean (Scotland)

3 Matches against quality opposition of Pak, NZ & Afg, this man was the backbone of batting with scores of 36, 59 & 67. He acted as the pivotal role in batting with a consistent performance and the team rallied around him. He surely is class and we hope to see him performing at the top level

2. FRJ Coleman (Scotland)

He was a second pivot of the Scottish Batting. As his teammate he was consistent in batting in all 3 matches with scores of 65, 39 & 30 bailing the team out in difficult conditions. Though the team has been losing causes we surely will look to his performances in the Plate rounds.

3. Sayed Shirzad (Afghanistan)

This young gun from Afghanistan was the Highest Wicket taker in the Group Stage ending with impressive figures of 4/35 and 3/33 against NZ & Scot. He simply ripped apart the opposition without conceding many runs. If he continues this way he surely would be next Hamid Hassan for Afghanistan

4. CN Kent (PNG)

PNG were ripped apart in each match specially in Batting but this young all rounder resisted the opposition often missing company at other end ending with scores of 24, 39 & 27 against Zim, WI & Ind when the team never crossed 200. He also had a 5 wicket haul against Zimbabwe. Hopefully he would help PNG make into World Cup in near future.


5. CA Soper (PNG)

This young bowler was the PNG mainstay in the Bowling department and also chipping in batting at critical stages. He had a 5 wicket haul against 2 time champions India and restricting them to a score of just crossing 200. In the match against WI, where PNG just managed 100+ score his 23 was critical in PNG crossing 100.

6. GH Dockrell (Ireland)

Australia ripped apart England, Nepal and Ireland in the tournament but here was a person who simply ripped the Aussies. The Impressive figure of 10-6-10-1 tells how much Aussie's were scared of him and their simple strategy was "Avoid Dockrell". This young lad and captain of Ireland had already impressed everyone with his bowling in 2011 World Cup and was very critical in Irish Performances. Not only in bowling where his 4/22 broke the back of Nepal he chipped in with his batting at critical stages like his 26 against England





7. RAJ Smith (Scotland)

This bowler was impressive ending with 3/43 & 4/45 against NZ & Afg. He also hung around with a impressive 34 against Pakistan. The Scots have many young promising talent and he is one of them for the future.

8. RK Vishwakarma (Nepal)

This young lad has been the backbone and consistent performer for Nepal despite his team having a  disastrous outing. His bowling troubled the batsman with he ending with figures of 2/50, 2/31 & 3/63 against Aus, Ire & Eng was critical in getting much required breaks for Nepal. He was very critical with batting when Nepal struggled scoring 32 & 20 against Ire and Eng. If Nepal is to get more exposure in future, this young man is the real potential for them and hopefully will not be lost like many talent lost in past


9. TE Kane (Ireland)

This all rounder has critical knocks in batting where Ireland were struggling. When Ireland managed all 3 scores in 100's this man scored 28, 21 & 39 in the 3 matches and was able to take wickets too in every match. His 6.3-1-13-1 was critical in choking Nepal and winning the match for Ireland by 14 Runs. Hopefully we should continue to see him in green and not lost to England like so many players have been lost

10. Afsar Khan (Afghanistan)

This sturdy batsman was rock solid in his 42 & 44 against NZ & Scotland. He was also critical inn the fielding taking 5 catches some of which were very critical. Afghanistan should work on him and realize his full potential.

11. W van Vuuren

Namibia had one of the most terrible tournament where they were thrashed 3 times in all the matches but Vuuren was one of the handful performers for the team. His all round performance against SL helped team build some creditability with his 38 & 2/65. He also hung around with his 20 against BD

12. Yamin Ahmadzai (Afghanistan)

His 7 wickets in the Group Stage with a 4/35 against helped in forming a deadly pair with Sayed Shirzad. The rate at which the pace bowling talent is coming from Afghanistan is very heartening to see. He is surely a potential who can be seen soon playing for the Senior Side in near future


13. SP Khakurel (Nepal)

His 55 against England helped Nepal to end up with a decent score and not ending in 2 digits like against Australia. His 31 against Ireland was not enough to see the team through for a victory. If there is one person who is a bright spot in the Nepal batting in U19 WC this is the Guy. Would love to see him playing at senior level soon



14. Z Groenewald (Namibia)

He is one of the first player to come from the black community in the country where the game is dominated by the White people and it was heartening to see the game spreading in Namibia.  On top of that he was one of the 2 performers for his team who with his 6 wickets gave the team some tooth. His 26 & 19 against SA & BD were also fighting performances in though which were pretty much losing causes.

This team of 14 surely must be nurtured by ICC for the future. ICC could give them Scholarships or Central contracts and give them global exposure which would help them grow and help their teams to grow and perform at international stages. Best of luck to these stars.

Time for a Peace Series

Sports is a big uniting force. This is not a new fact but known to almost all. When Pakistan played Afghanistan in Sharjah, the though usually divided nation was completely united behind the match. President Hamid Karzai was known to be curious about the score. The biggest thing however which should raise eyebrows is that even Taliban called and wished luck to the cricket team and have openly declared that they will continue to support Cricket even after they come to power.

Remember this is the same Taliban who had banned all sports including even Kite Flying!!!! How come they are supporting Cricket. Well that is the power of sports, that it can melt even the most of the hardliners too.

Can the 4 Captains be the Peacemakers- MS Dhoni (Ind), Misbhah (Pak), Nowroz Mangal(Afg) & Sushil Nadkarni (USA)

Now what would be the most vulnerable place that can cause the 2012 Myth to come true? No it is not Israel. I give you a hint, that Area contains about a fifth of World Population, it has 2 of the 9 countries with Nuclear Weapons. Yes you got it right. It is South Asia.

Peace and South Asia are not synonymous. At one side we have 2 biggest Rivals India and Pakistan. Then we have Afghanistan where the word peace is tipped to be knocked off the Dictionary. The others do not also fare better. The USA lead forces with all their might have been trying to bring control in the countries but without much results.

But where Bullets and Bombs could do nothing, the Ball can do a lot. Not any other ball but over favorite Cricket ball should come into play. Afghanistan is a cricket mad country. USA is the second biggest cricket market due to the influential South Asian community there. Besides USA and Afghanistan itself, India and Pakistan are also major players for peace in the country. Without these 2 nothing will move forward and inch and what is good, these 2 nations are also absolutely cricket crazy.

USA has tried the other route and perhaps it is the time where it should move ahead and try this route to move ahead. Let the rivalries come out on the Cricket pitch and not in the countryside.

US should declare the intention of a peace series to kick start the stalled peace process and go ahead and invite the teams from Ind, Pak & Afg to visit USA and host a quadrangular series the "Peace Series". It should push the governments to arrange for teams to take out time for these series. Obama can surely push Sharad Pawar, Manmohan Singh, Gilani & Karzai to force the 4 boards to send their best teams.

Can Obama arrange the 4 boards to come for the Peace Series

 Imagine the likes of India and Pakistan playing each other. The though of the 2 in the peace series will create vibe all over the world. Involving Afghanistan and USA would bring a much more holistic perceptive. Afghans surely will be happy to be involved with the 2 best cricket nations and the nation can feel proud behind their team. USA Cricketers will relish the chance to play these 3 top teams which they may never get in the country. A lot of goodwill can be created in all the 3 South Asian countries for USA. Perhaps the cricket emotional South Asians would be happy to support Obama for next elections for raising the profile of their favorite sports in their country.

USA which has got a lot of negative publicity in Pak & Afg would get many positive vibes as sports makes people forget everything. With such a positive start then it can be followed by more diplomatic initiatives. Cricket is the ice breaker that USA presently needs.

Lastly the ICC should also encourage such a move as
1. Cricket will make all the right moves in it's strategic market of USA
2. It can generate lot of revenues for ICC if it decides to organize it
3. ICC get a good name

At present there is no such talk, but if US was to open it's eyes, it is one of the significant ways to get all the moves right with just 1 sports tournament. I hope that some diplomat in US will look outside for ideas and makes peace return to a fifth of world population.

Who will win the ICC Twenty20 Qualifiers?

This is a very difficult question and the right answer is really difficult to guess. It is a tournament with too many teams and too little slots to fill. Over that the teams are all really competitive with almost all teams on their day have capability to defeat all other teams. However said that not all teams have an equal chance. Given the squads, exposure of various team I would put the chances as follows

THE FAVORITES
1. IRELAND
They are the most popular associates and clearly the favorites. They have got a great intelligent Captain who makes the most of the resources. The resources definitely are exciting lead by the dangerous Kevin O'Brien famous for his fastest century in the World Cup or the young and Exciting George Dockrell. The team has the talent and it will be tough be tough for most teams to overcome this talent

Can O'Brien repeat the performance. Let's hope so

2. AFGHANISTAN
They are a nation filled with passion for Cricket. Cricket unites this war ravaged country and the cricketers are the national stars. Afghanistan has one of the most potent talents who on their day can take on the mightiest names in Cricket. A fiery pace attack led by Hamid Hassan who can easily made place in most of the test sides or the calm and composed captain Nawroz Mangal, they would be making the most likely finalist with Ireland

He can single handily rip apart any Line Up

3. SCOTLAND
Surprised to hear this name. The Scots have a flourishing team whose average age is 24. The team stayed away from limelight as they missed out for 2011 WC, but in 2011 they have a performance that needs to looked into. They have played 4 ODI's and won 3, 2 against Netherlands and 1 against Ireland. They lost the 1 match to Sri Lanka. This is a team with real power works and taking them lightly is asking for trouble

GOOD BETS
1. NETHERLANDS
Surprised this name is not there in the favorites, well don't be. The biggest name and star is not playing the qualifiers, yes we are talking of ten Doeschate is not playing and hence this clearly puts them off the field of favorites. Having said that the team has still got some good talent and surely have a clear chance to make it to Sri Lanka

Netherlands surely will miss him

2. KENYA
Are you judging them by their performance in 2011 WC, well if the answer is yes, then my recommendation don't be fooled by that.  After the disastrous campaign the management has put all ticks in the preparation for this tournament. Firstly they formed the domestic structure which was important. Then they have given the young players loads of exposure which is very critical. The results have not coming in full swings but surely there are good signs. The visiting Irish team did not have it easy for the Inter Continental Matches.

3. CANADA
The performance surely have dropped after the World Cup with the loss of a great player like Ashish Bagai. They are down but never out. With some exciting players like Harvinder Baidwan, Jimmy Hansra or Manny Aulakh and they on their day can take any other team.

A leader lost?

4. NAMIBIA
When Kenya visited them they smashed them 6-2 in a T20 series. Presently they get to play in the Domestic Series in South Africa, whose experience they surely are relishing and the performance can be seen on the field. They have played in a World Cup once and surely would want to reach the top level again. The Burger's form would be critical for the team

PARTY SPOILERS
Here I would like to put teams who have a bleak chance of making into the World T20 but surely can spoil the party of teams who would be running towards it. The big names have to beware of them

1. PNG
The team is a result of hard work put in at Junior level. PNG have a great youth program with largest number of players involved in any Associate. The team has a great bowling line up. The one area where have opportunity is Batting and with former England Wicket Keeper Batsman Greaint Jones, surely makes them a very very dangerous team.

Will he be the X Factor for PNG

2. HONG KONG
Like PNG and Scotland this is a team made from developing the youth. It is a very young team which were the runners up in the Asian region and gave a very close fight to Afghanistan in the finals. They surely can never be taken lightly at any momemt

3. NEPAL
They have the biggest fan base amongst the Associates, a nation filled with passion for the game of Cricket. They got a new coach who was responsible for transforming Canada and doing all things right to do the same in Nepal. The coach is getting good exposure for the team before hits Dubai. The team is the best at Junior Levels who have defeated the likes of SA, BD, NZ & WI and people are hoping that they will this time transform the performance at senior level

He is a local star. Can he make it in International Stage, an area he desrves

4. UGANDA
If we talk of upcoming teams one thing is common amongst them. Be it  Scotland, PNG, HK, Nepal or Uganda. The development of youth is the key for success. The party spoiling could be seen at the African Division One where they defeated the Party of the better rated Namibia and won the tournament. They also made the right noises when their both Franchise's reached the finals in the EAPL. They have been traditional chokers, but this is the tag they would be hoping to get rid of.

5. BERMUDA
Remember a fat man taking a diving catch. Yes it was Bermuda itself. They have tasted the top level once and surely would be wanting to do that again for the most popular game of the country. The team surely have got great talents like David Hemp. Let's see how they fare in their biggest tournament of the year

6. USA
The nation is the second biggest market for Cricket in the world. There are over 20000 active players in the country. The country has got the mix of experience of India, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia and England. The team had once surprised the critics and reached the Champion Trophy. But, a big But the limitation is that the sports is run like a personal fiefdom under Mr Dainty where merit is often ignored. Having said that there are certainly some very talented players who can give a run for money to all the top teams in the tournament

Will US Cricket be luck enough to get rid of this sloppy faced Dictator

THE FILLERS
OMAN is a team formed of all but some expats. The team is aging and in T20 format that is not helpful

DENMARK joined the ranks of Scotland and Netherlands but over time the game somehow lost out. The nation has got some talent but I do not expect much action from them

ITALY is a upcoming team which draws its strength from likes of immigrants or overseas players of Italian origin. They overseas players are it X factor but I do not expect them miraculously reach Sri Lanka. Some wins here and there but not much besides that.


Finally this tournament will be a cracker of the tournament. Let us hope the best team makes it to Sri Lanka

ACC T20 is over but what about Asia Cup

The Afghan's won the ACC T20 for a record 3rd time. The tournament has been held just 3 times and each time the Afghans have emerged winners (Though the first time joint winners). The Afghan's have been doing everything right in cricket but does it really matter. First they started with the dream run of qualifying to the World Cricket League Division 5 and from there qualifying to the World Cup Qualifiers barely just missing the world cup spot though gaining the ODI status. Then they grabbed just 2 spots for ICC World Twenty 20 becoming the first associate so do so. Then they won the Inter Continental Trophy as well as Asian Games silver. This couldn't be anything better than this. Adding to this the Afghan's have proved that they are cut above the rest by winning all ACC Tournaments they have been playing.

The ACC Champions:Afghanistan (c)Asian Cricket Council

Now we ask shouldn't this team be playing in the Asia Cup. Surprisingly the big four of Asia say no. The Asia Cup has been known to give a chance to the Asian Associate irrelevant to their standing at World Level. Even when Bangladesh was not a top Associate Globally they still got to play in the Asia Cup several times. They were pathetic but still the teams never had any problems. Then the Asia Cup became more considerate with it including the top 2 Associates. Both times UAE and HK got a chance. But come 2010 this has suddenly changed.

The 2007 WC Expierence has brought in hell for Associates. With India and Pakistan both losing Associates rather than Complacency was being blamed for that. in 2010 the Asia Cup was reduced back to 4 from 6 a huge step backwards. Time has being given as a reason. Due to this fact the 2012 Asia Cup is again a 4 nation tournament.

The Asia Cup is a revenue earner for ACC besides the huge 50% Allocation they get out of ICC Development fund. The big 4 nations just get a participating fee. With BCCI becoming more and more arrogant over time this meant the small participating fee seemed too small. Adjusting to a 6 nation tournament was simply impossible and ACC needed money. Hence they had to agree.

The Associate nations have been asking for a few set of matches. The only difference between Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland or Afghanistan is that the first 2 get 7.5% Share of Funding which is about 7 to 8 times more than the latter 2. The First 2 also get a chance to earn through the tours of various countries like India, Australia or England while the latter 2 simply do not get it. This has made even Bangladesh arrogant not to play against team like Ireland or Afghanistan very well knowing that a defeat would bring questions on their test status. So it rather prefers not to play rather than playing a Afghanistan or Zimbabwe

So in such a condition what should ACC do. The answer is very simple. The ACC wants the Asia Cup for money and if possible for exposure to new countries. So what is the format that brings most money and also is recognized globally as a tool for expansion. Yes my friends you are right the answer is T20.

The ACC should consider making the Asia Cup a T20 tournament. This solves many of their problems
1. It is much more easy to adjust in busy schedules of India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka since T20 takes less times
2. T20 gives possibility of higher incomes
3. More teams can be adjusted in the tournament
4. The tournament gives ACC a chance to expand the game into more nations hence widening the possible income stream
5. Less wear and tear for the players

Hence the answer is clear. It is high time Asia Cup cup for 20 overs now. It should be a 8 team tournament with top 4 Associates joining the 4 test nations. T20 games can be more competitive with more chances of upset which makes the whole thing interesting. The tournament should have 2 pools of 4 each followed by semi's and finals.

After the present tournament the line would have been

Pool A:- India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal
Pool B:- Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Oman

This would mean both Afghanistan and Nepal have a chance to prove a point against Bangladesh and the Bangla's cannot take it easy. Similarly a resurgent Hong Kong and Oman will have a expeirence they will never want to forget.

It is said life goes in circles. The ICC was a closed house then they expanded by adding 3 test nation to present 3 then closed door outside commonwealth then opened to new nations as Associates then kept the test nation guarded as 6 then expanded the cricket to increase membership to 105 and 16 nations world cup before closing. Now it is time for expansion. I hope it comes soon and cricket goes with the market and not as a communist system.

Will weather favor Nepal, Afghanistan in ACC Twenty20

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” -Mark Twain


 The Climate for the tournament will surely be electrifying which most of the Associate Players may not be lucky enough to see but the weather in Kathmandu will surely favor a few. The 2 times champion Afghanistan and the hosts Nepal both will definitely will get an Advantage from the weather. If we look at the average maximum and minimum temperature it will say it all

"It surely is cold at a few places only"

As we can see in the coldest month in Asia only 3 capitals i.e. Kathmandu, Kabul and Thimpu are in the temperate zone and rest are in the tropical zone. The max temperature in December is 19.4 C and min is just 3.0 C. This means we will have cold morning and evening.


Weather surely plays a very crucial factor in cricket. The cricket ball is very hard. In cold temperature the hands tends to become numb and effect the holding of the ball. For people of colder places like Nepal, Afghanistan or Bhutan it will not be much of a problem since they are used to it. However imagine a player who comes from Dubai or Malaysia, where it never gets cold through out the year. For such players it will be coming from 36 C to 20 C. It effects the performance specially fielding and bowling. 


Secondly the cold weather means thin air, which means more swing. The Pacer of Afghanistan or local stars will know how to extract the maximum.

Afghanistan are the champions and though this tournament means nothing for qualification but it surely is pride. The Rivalry between Nepal and Afghanistan is not any less than that of India Pakistan

Nepal has a huge home advantage that will boost it's morale. The weather also can be used to maximize its performance. Nepal will never have a better chance to boost it poor track record in T20


All things said and done, the teams are expected to perform in all circumstances. Since it the start of December there is a possibility that it will still not be that chilling. Also many of the players in the Gulf teams are from northern part of sub continent where also it get very cold and would be used to it. Finally to close I have a beautiful anonymous quote


“Whether the weather be fine, Whether the weather be not, Whether the weather be cold, Whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather, Whatever the whether, Whether we like it or not”

What can the coaches expect from SAARC Twenty20

The SAARC Twenty20 is on in full steam. We have seen some good contests but mostly one sided contests. In this tournaments where Bangladesh did not even send a team and India send a team that is not even a Ranji team. So from this tournament what should coaches of different countries expect

1. Afghanistan
Afghanistan is placed in a very easy group. The coach should not expect any tough competition in the league stage and has happened that way. It is here the coach should have used the bench strength and tried various new players and youngsters. Then in the Semi Finals and Finals the Afghan should put in the best team as it would be against the stronger teams of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Afghan should definitely aim to win this tournament

2. Bhutan
Bhutan is one of the weakest teams in the group. The coach here should put his best team and try to get the best performance. They had a chance to qualify to next stage by defeating Maldives (Though they did not do it) and then perhaps more exposure against the strong teams of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The coach should have relished the cricket team is playing after a long time

3. India
India has send not even a A or B or C but rather a Z team. It is not even one of the 24 Domestic Ranji teams. The players here perhaps would never get a chance of representing India and same maybe the case for the Coach. The coach should have got the best out of the players and perhaps got some recognition for himself.

4. Maldives
The coach will be coaching the hosts. He has big responsibility. He has perhaps the toughest task of taking his team beyond expectations. On a positive side, the team will never get a greater exposure than this and should relish this

Dassanayake: He perhaps has the toughest job in the tournament

5. Nepal
This tournament is perhaps most critical for Nepalese Coach. He is a new coach and the team is new to him. The team has a critical tournament of ACC Twenty20 coming up ahead which they are hosting. The team was always short of exposure and this tournament could not have come at the right time. The coach should be happy they got the tough group and will get all the exposure. Nepal should have aimed to perform and excel. They have not been able to do so. They have lost to Sri Lanka and just managed to go past the non existent KIC so called Indian team. The match against Pakistan is crucial and the Nepalese should not be happy with the win against KIC.

6. Pakistan
The coach is commanding perhaps the strongest team in the tournament. The coach has set of boys who would to prove themselves and perhaps break into the national squad. he should get exceptional performances and lead them to the title

7. Sri Lanka
The teams can be seeded second behind Pakistan. The coach would have similar condition as that of Pakistan. Ambitious boys and aim for the title

The tournament is now moving into the second stage. Let's hope to see some great matches and all the best to all the coaches

Can cricket become a peace tool for Afghanistan

Sports is a very powerful tool. It has power to unite people across the divide. For so many years people have been seen uniting behind their sportsperson, be it the ancient time warriors when that was a sport or in modern time a India behind Sachin or France behind Zidane or many more.

The has been seen on various occasions. When the Iraqi Football team won the Asian championship people could be seen shouting "We love Iraq". They forgot that whether they were Shia or Sunni or were they Arab or Kurd. That helped rekindle the dwindling identity of Iraq and people could be proud of being related to it. Similarly whole of Palestine rallied behind their team when they won the Football league of Israel.

Sports can be very powerful tool in other direction too. It was behind this sports that two countries El Salvador and Nicaragua went to war with each other. This happened after a bitter football match and immediately a war popularly known as "Football War". So it leaves us without any doubt that sport has got extreme power over people

Cricket for Peace in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a beautiful country. I never have been there but seeing various pictures on internet or posted by my friends from Afghanistan, I surely can say it is beautiful country. However the country has been bound by wars, strife for over 31 years now. The country consists of people of various ethnic groups like Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Baluch. The country has over years seen internal interference from various countries including Pakistan, Russia, USA, India, Iran, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan to name a few. The countries has got many dividing factors. Cricket definitely is the factor that can be the binding factor that the country needs.


Cricket was introduced to Afghans while living in the refugee camps in Pakistan during the Soviet Invasion. When the times became better they took the game back with them to Afghanistan. Cricket gained so much popularity that the Taliban regime which had banned all sports even Kite flying allowed cricket and even initiated the process of Afghanistan Team. The dream run of Afghanistan team begun when they started from Division 5 to reach for ODI Status and then qualify for the World Twenty20. This brought in even more support behind cricket to such that level that people who did not even understand game properly supported their team with full rigor.

When the new Ghazi Amanullah Khan Cricket Stadium at Jalalabad came up and the first match held the stadium was full in no time. So many people turned out that the financiers of the stadium decided to double it's capacity and immediately started it's construction.

 USA should realize the power of cricket in Afghanistan. USA should use it power to reach out to people and give them international opportunities. For this it should have a 3 step policy

Firstly it should take cricket to the deepest of parts and make it a very important part of the social fibre. There have been few stadiums coming up in Afghanistan but it should ensure they quickly come up in all the 30+ Provinces. Besides that grounds and equipment should be provided all across the country. This would ensure that cricket trickles down to the bottom and more solidly bonds in the national fibre

Obama thinking: Is he thinking a Peace Cricket Series between Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and USA?

Secondly USA should ensure that the national team gets more international exposure and training. USA should also wield it's influence on Australia, UK, India, Pakistan and taking this as top priority pressurize them on playing some short series against the Afghan's. This would give a good exposure to the team but most importantly something for Afghans to cheer behind. A victory against the team would bring cheer and make people rally behind Afghanistan . This could be seen when in Asian Games the Afghan's defeated Pakistan, the whole nation was celebrating. 

An Idea for the same can be a series in USA involving India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and USA. This surely will be a peace series with USA getting a chance of involving 2 very important stakeholder of Afghanistan India and Pakistan. Also this series will provide a chance to break ice between India and Pakistan and also a chance of taking USA Afghan rivalry onto the field and not through guns.

Celebrating Heroes. Such performances help the nation to rally behind there teams and get over dividing issues

Thirdly it should ensure that better results start to come. If cricket is able to provide Afghan's something to rally behind and cheer about more importantly even more proud of the Afghan identity before their clan this will be a big step towards taking it to peace The Afghan's are known to be sturdy people full of dedication to whatever they take up. It was their dedication that brought a super power USSR on to it's knees. Hence given more chances, it is beyond doubt that the Afghan's will make it to one of the best.

In the end I am not saying by playing cricket will bring peace, but cricket is the most important tool to rekindle the Afghan identity and along with that some focused effort can do the trick. The World should realize this and help Afghans on this cause. They owe it to them. I am a real fan of the Afghans and hope peace comes there soon.

SAARC Twenty20 Schedule

As we all know SAARC TwentyT20 cricket tournament is being held in Maldives from October 31 to November 7. All the 8 members of SAARC are supposed to be participating in the tournament.

BCCI due to other commitments was not able to send it's U-25 teams as the senior team, U-19 team and A team will be busy, besides domestic tournament going.  As the tournament is being held on the sidelines of the SAARC summit, Maldives government wanted all the team to take part in it, hence  BCCI will be represented by Karnataka Institute of Cricket.

Similar problem are also there for Bangladesh who have their both national and A teams busy, hence will be represented by a representative team to be declared soon.

We will soon be seeing some action like Ind V Pak rivalry, Afghanistan proving a point against Bangladesh, Nepal getting good exposure against likes of India, Sri Lanka & Pakistan



Group A
Afghanistan
Bangladesh Representative Side (Bangladesh)
Bhutan
Maldives

Group B
KIC (India)
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Pakistan

Tentative Schedule
31 Oct
Maldives vs Bhutan
Sri Lanka vs Nepal
1 Nov
Afghanistan vs BRS (Bangladesh)
KIC(India) vs Pakistan
2 Nov
Sri Lanka vs KIC(India)
Maldives vs Afghanistan
3 Nov
Nepal vs Pakistan
Bhutan vs BRS (Bangladesh)
4 Nov
Maldives vs BRS (Bangladesh)
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan
5 Nov
Bhutan vs Afghanistan
Nepal vs KIC(India)
6 Nov
1st SF:-Group 1 winners vs Group 2 Runners-up
2nd SF:-Group 2 winners vs Group 1 Runners-up
7 Nov
FINAL 

Scatchy details on SAARC U-25 Tournament Groups and Schedule

Presently the details of the groups though have not been declared and we are still waiting for them but there are few details that can be shared

SAARC Twenty20 Cup, 2011

FORMAT:- T20

Schedule:- 31st Oct to 7 Nov. Teams arrive on 29th Oct and leave on 8th Oct.

Number of teams:- 8, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives(Hosts), Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka U-25 teams

Wicket:- Synthetic wicket (Astro turf).

Groups:- 2 Groups of 4 teams(Group A & Group B) each based on Ranking (Ranking yet to be declared and awaited)
2 Semi Finals:- Winner A Vs Runner Up B, Winner B Vs Runner Up A
Finals


SQUADS:-
3 teams have declared their squad
Afghanistan:- Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Nabi(captain), M. Shahzad, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Asghar Stanikzai, Nasir Jamal, Najibullah Zadran, Amir Mangal, Fazel Zazai and Nawab Khan (TENTATIVE AS PER afgcric.com)

Bhutan:- Jigme Singye, Kencho Norbu, Susil Sharma Luitel, Thinley Tenzin, Thinley Jamtsho, Sonam Darjey, Nar Bahadur Burathoki Mongar, Sisir Raj Gurung, Nima Gurung, Tandin Wangchuk, Tandin Wangchuk, Manoj Adhikari, Sonam Tobgay, Tashi Yoedzer Tshering, Damber Singh Gurung (Coach), Sonam (Manager)

Nepal:- Paras Khadka (Captain) and Gyanendra Malla (Vice Captain), Sarad Veskwarker, Mahesh Chettri, Anil Mandal, Amrit Bhattarai, Rahul BK, Pradeep Airee, Prithu Baskota, Naresh Budhayer, Binod Bhandari, Krishna Karki, Bhuwan Karki and Avinash Karna.

Pakistan:-     Nasir Jamshaid, Awais Zia, Umer Amin (cap), Rameez Aziz, Zain Abbass, Shazeb Hassan, Jamal Anwar, Raza Hasan, Muhammad Tallha, Anwar Ali, Mohamed Rameez, Asad Ali, Usman Qadir, Bismillah Khan. Officials: Sabih Azhar (Coach/Manager), Dr. Riaz Ahmed (Physio), Yasir malik (Trainer)

We are awaiting for more details of the tournament. As soon as we get them we would post them for you.

SAARC U-25 Cricket Tourney: More similar tournaments needed

The government of Maldives is inaugurating its first cricket stadium in a brilliant way. Along with the SAARC conference it is organizing the first SAARC U-25 Cricket tournament in which all the 8 members will be participating. Initially as part of SAARC games, cricket was included but one or the other team like India or minor countries like Bhutan did not send teams.

Cricket in South Asia is really popular, a religion. It is infact the place which cricket is popular that no other games stands a chance to come near it. India, Pakistan, SL and Bangladesh are well known cricket crazy nations but very few know that it is also the most popular game in Nepal, Afghanistan and Bhutan, and surprisingly the hosts are the only nation where cricket in no 2 in South Asia.

This tournament after a long time will give youngsters from Nepal, Afghanistan rightful experience against big boys of South Asia. It also gives them a chance to showcase their teams and perhaps defeat the traditional teams and give them the needful attention. Who knows we will see the likes of Mehboob Alam or Hamid Hassan blowing away wickets of Pakistani's or Indians or Paras Khadka or Mohammad Nabi steadying the innings and taking their teams home

Will Paras Khadka take Nepal home like so many times he has done before

The tournament has the started at the place where it should but perhaps a little late. Lets go by the saying "Better Late than Never". Similar to this tournament, ICC can take the help of government to start similar tournament across the globe where the youngster of lesser and bigger tournament meet. The lesser teams play very less cricket and less cricket means less development of teams. It is a vicious cycle and with ICC so much in control of money minded boards of 10 Test Nations, government support is definitely break the cycle

Can we see a repeat of Asian Games

Besides South Asia, perhaps UK Government can fund a similar tournament for all the Home Nations and we see a annual tournament between teams from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, N Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. Cricket is decently popular in all the nations and England can send England Lions or a junior team, but will be worth the experience for the other nations and surely will bring attention in many nations like a Ireland V Wales game.

The other place can be South East Asia with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Myanmar and Brunei can join in for the tournament. Many government in the area can support such move. The move to make Cricket a demo sport in South East Asian games is perhaps a first baby step in such direction. Also Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong have been involved in a tournament before. Also like Copa America SEA can invite any of the Test nation or their junior team as per the availability

East Africa has been a place where such a annual tournament took place. It is also a place that has got many decent teams in form of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. These 3 nations along with Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi and perhaps Zimbabwe, Namibia can join the tournament along with South Africa can take part.

The South America has already started a continental tournament. ICC needs to work in these nations and develop cricket in these nations. Argentina, Brazil, Chile can be great potential nations can start the tournament along with inviting Suriname and Guyana for a interesting tournament.

All these tournaments appear great on paper but besides South Asia there is not much motivation for government to go for such tournament. The biggest motivation and driver can be OLYMPICS.  If ICC has to break the shackles of BCCI, then it needs to get cricket at any cost into Olympics and T20 is the perfect way to do it. Doing that it will start to get government support and many such tournaments will become a reality.

Cricket is at a make or break stage. Lets us see in which direction it goes, meanwhile best of luck to SAARC U-25 tournament and may it become an annual affair.