87 percent fans want T20 in Olympics, reveals ICC study
Dubai, June 27: An International Cricket Council's (ICC) survey on Wednesday revealed that 87 percent of global fans want the inclusion of T20 cricket in the Olympics even as the sport's world governing body claimed that the gentleman's game has over one billion fans across the globe.
The survey, carried out in the 12 Full Member countries, and China and the United States -- the latter two because they've been identified as non-traditional markets with huge potential for growth, showed T20I as the most popular format with 92 percent interest whilst ODIs are close with 88 percent interest.
"It is the first global market research project ever undertaken in the sport and having more than one billion fans in the surveyed age category of 16-69 alone, with an average age of 34, is undoubtedly an exciting and strong position from which we can drive the sport forward," ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said in a statement.
"There are opportunities to grow in both our traditional markets, where the focus will be on attracting more women and girls, children and families, to the game, as well as non-traditional cricket playing nations where there is clearly both interest and opportunity.
"A global growth strategy for cricket is currently being developed and this research is a significant cornerstone of that, guiding our decision making and providing us with a benchmark to measure progress as we look to drive long-term growth of the game," he added.
The research also identified more than 300 million active participants over the age of 16, ranging from occasional social players to the elite level, this number is likely to grow significantly if under 16s are counted.
These participants highlighted the fun and sociability of the sport as well as the health benefits.
The breakdown of cricket's three different formats in the research showed two-thirds of fans over the age of 16 who were interviewed are interested in all three international formats of the game.
Close to 70 percent fans are interested in Test cricket with fans in England and Wales showing the strongest interest in this format (86 percent), South Africa lead the interest in ODI cricket (91) and Pakistan in T20I cricket (98).
It also revealed that the 50-over World Cup and the World T20 are more popular tournaments than the bilateral series and domestic T20 leagues with 95 percent fans expressing interest in the major ICC tourneys.
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Mangaluru: Special trains to Chennai for Vishu festival
Mangaluru: To clear extra passenger rush during the Vishu festival, the Southern Railway has announced special train services between Mangaluru Central and Chennai Egmore.
According to an official release, Train No. 06126 Mangaluru Central-Chennai Egmore Special will depart Mangaluru Central at 4:00 pm on April 6 and 13, reaching Chennai Egmore at 10:30 a.m the next day.
In the return direction, Train No. 06125 Chennai Egmore-Mangaluru Central Special will leave Chennai Egmore at 2:00 pm on April 7 and 14 and arrive at Mangaluru Central at 6:50 am the following day.
The train will have two AC two-tier, eight AC three-tier, six sleeper class, four general second class coaches, one Divyangjan-friendly coach, and one luggage-cum-brake van.
In a seperate announcement, the southern railway also announced special service between between Bengaluru Cantonment and Dr. MGR Chennai Central to manage the extra rush of passengers.
Train No. 06545 will depart from Bengaluru Cantonment at 08:05 am on Thursday, 9th April and is scheduled to reach Chennai Central at 3:00 pm on the same day. The return service, Train No. 06546, will leave Chennai Central at 4:45 pm on the same day and reach Bengaluru Cantonment at 11:00 pm.
