|| CF Correspondent ||

The International Cricket Council chairman Shashank Manohar said on Thursday that United States of America will take 15 to 20 years to develop as a cricketing nation. 

“As far as America cricket is concerned, my firm belief is that if you have a good board in America, it will take 15-20 years to develop cricket there. There is no cricket culture there. Only expats from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka play cricket there. It is not going to develop the game,’’ Manohar told reporters on Thursday.

International Cricket Council Chairman Shashank Manohar arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday at the invitation of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan, MP to witness the final of the Bangladesh Premier League.

Manohar spent a busy Thursday as he visited the National Martyrs Monument in Savar to pay homage to the martyrs of the 1971 War of Liberation while he also paid a courtesy call on Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban in the evening before attending an official reception hosted by the BCB in his honour.
Manohar added that he is not too sure whether it will be feasible to introduce cricket in Olympic as it will need an overhaul renovation for the host nation.

 “We are trying to take it to Olympics but there are certain hurdles. The bigger issue is the Olympics is held over 15 days. How do you finish a world event of cricket in fifteen days? For that you need cricket stadiums also. Olympics are not held only in cricket playing countries. They are played elsewhere, so to finish the tournament you will need a minimum of four stadiums,’’ concluded Manohar.