Brazil dream of Test cricket status, India may pitch in

Wednesday April 16, 02:41 AM

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to send a cricket coach to train budding cricketers in football crazy Brazil.

In fact, with the All India Football Federation looking for a coach for the Indian football team, it seems the sporting engagement between the two developing countries will happen on a quid pro quo basis.

"Brazil is keen to get the status of a Test-playing country. For this, they are looking for a coach, and talks are on with the BCCI to find one," disclosed the Indian Ambassador to Brazil, Hardeep Singh Puri.

Puri said that the BCCI had, in principle, agreed on this proposal even before External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Brazil in February this year.

The development comes in the backdrop of the cultural agreement signed between India and Brazil in 2006, wherein both countries have agreed to co-operate in sports, with football being a major part of it.

Given Brazil's prominence in the global football arena, India hope to benefit from their skills. In fact, AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi is learnt to have even approached the Brazilian Ambassador in India. However, getting a football coach from Brazil is not an easy task, just as it would be no walk in the park for the BCCI to find a suitable coach to sharpen the cricketing acumen of Brazilian teams.

"Football in Brazil is very big, it not only involves great skills but also commands huge money in this country," said Puri. However, he added that they were trying to work out something with the India.

Brazil is already a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2002 and had even participated in Division three matches of the ICC held in Surinam in 2006, when they had lost all their matches.

Brazil will be looking forward to better their performance since then while India, in turn, hope to benefit from the Brazilian expertise in football.

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