We have a very big chance to qualify in T20 World Cup in India next year: Italy batter Zain Naqvi [Interview]

In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, Pakistan-born Italian cricketer Zain Naqvi spoke about the hardships that cricketers in the European nation have to go through, balancing the sport with their jobs. He also revealed a team that he would love to play for in the Indian Premier League and who he would want as his opening partner.

Naqvi also explained the difference between the T10 and T20 formats. He further expressed his hopes about on Italy making it through to the T20 World Cup 2026, which is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka.

Excerpts from the interview

Where did your cricketing journey start?

We start from Italy. I'm basically from Pakistan. But I started my cricket journey in Italy. I was 12 years old when I shifted here in Italy with my family. And I started in Parikh. And with friends, I just started playing table cricket. And then I started playing in the Italian national team. In club cricket, I was the top scorer in Italy for like 2-3 years. After that, they picked me in the national team. I have scored 200 against Austria and Spain. And since then, I have been playing for the national team and in club cricket.

You scored a mind-boggling 160 runs off 37 balls in a European Cricket League 10-over match. Can you explain your mindset heading into the innings, and what was your plan while batting in the middle?

So basically, in T10 cricket, if you are scoring 200, you are still thinking that's not enough. So, my mindset was very clear. I have to go and play my shots from ball number one. When I went to the wicket, that was actually a difficult wicket. But I played one over, and I knew how things were going. And then I started hitting continually. And then I didn't know when I got to 160, when I hit six sixes in two overs.

You have played both T10 and T20. Can you tell us what the differences are between these formats?

Yeah, in T20 you have a little time. But in my mind, it's clear even there that you have to attack because the cricket is not a walk in the park. So you have to try to hit every ball. In T10, you don't have too much time. You have to play from ball number one. So this is the difference. In T20, you have a little time. In T10, you have no time. You have to start [hitting] from ball one.

Do field placements and bowling strategies even matter in T10 cricket? Or is it just about trying to restrict the batters from scoring freely?

Actually, T10 has almost ended the careers of bowlers. The ball isn't old, it is new, and it's easy for the batsman.
So, all the bowlers try to give as few runs as possible. So, basically, the plan is to bowl wide yorkers. But there's no change in T10. The minimum is 120-130 runs.

What is the hardest part of being a cricketer in a country where maybe 99% of the people don't know some of the stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Baba Razan, and Rohit Sharma?

I mean, it's a lot of difficulty because you have to manage a job alongside playing cricket. You have to manage everything. But there's a passion. We play with passion and do my job as well. The place where I stay, people here don't know that I play for the national team. It's like a normal sport. Even now, Italians don't know what cricket is. But slowly, our federation is also working hard. And maybe in the future, the Italians will get involved in this [cricket].

If you get a wildcard entry into the IPL, who would you like to have as your batting partner?

Definitely, Virat Kohli.

Moving on to a hypothetical question. If you had a chance to steal a player and have him playing in the Italian team as your opening partner, who would that be?

Well, maybe Travis Head. I think playing with him will make my job a little easier. He plays like me, he will hit from the first ball. Also, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head both.

If you were to make your IPL debut, which team do you think would suit your style of play?

Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Because they go from ball one, right?

Yeah. I play the same way. So, I think that would be a good choice.

What kind of changes have you seen in Italian cricket in the last five to seven years?

Now, we have a very big chance to qualify in T20 World Cup in India next year. So, we are in the top five. Two teams will be qualifying in the World Cup. We will be playing T20 World Cup Qualifier in July in Holland. So, we have a very good squad. We have Josh Brown who will be playing with us. Ex-Australian player. And also some county players and BPL players. So, we have a very good chance to qualify for World Cup. Maybe we will be playing in India.

Have you started seeing more people of Italian origin starting to play cricket? Or is it still being predominantly played by players who have moved there from Asian countries?

Yeah, now it's changing. In the school, they are teaching in schools, and it's changing a lot. Now they're coming forward, Italians are coming out. But if you say that there are 3-4 Italian players in a club, that's not happening. Maybe there will be 2 players in a club who are proper Italians. But 3-4 or 5-6 Italians in a club are not happening. But our federation is working very hard. They are going to schools and teaching Italians. If the Italians come to this field, it will be better for us. Because if cricket is a little famous here, we'll have better careers. We won't have to look for jobs. Because now we have to do our jobs and play cricket, do everything.

As you mentioned, the T20 World Cup, the marquee event, saw an expansion in 2024, and 20 teams took part. The USA defeated Pakistan to progress beyond the first round. Do performances like this serve as an inspiration for a young cricketing nation like Italy?

Yeah, definitely. We have a good squad now. We have a good squad from the country, from BPL, from Australia. And like 5-6 guys from Italy also. So, we are with them. They are growing us. They are growing our cricket also. So, definitely if we will qualify for T20 World Cup, we can beat some big teams like Pakistan or maybe India also. We will try. We have a very good squad.

In your debut match for Italy, you gave Ireland a good run for their money. You came very close to winning. It was a full-strength Ireland squad as well. So, that must have given you all a lot of motivation and belief.

Yeah, I got my debut against Ireland a couple of years ago. It was a little hard situation because when I went out to bat, we needed almost 40 runs in 15-16 balls. I had to try to hit from ball number one. Josh Little was bowling at 140. He was coming to bowl to me. First ball I faced [was from] Josh Little. And I took a single. From next over, it was Mark Adair, I think. Yeah. He bowled me a bouncer and I just got out for one run. But it was just that you had to hit [from] the first ball. 40 runs were needed off 15-16 balls. We were trying to win the game. But unfortunately, we lost by six runs. So, that was a very solid match.

If you are given a role in administration for Italian cricket, what kind of steps would you want to take so that progress can be fast-tracked, and you all can make the higher levels quicker?

We don't have a proper wicket here. We don't have a proper ground here. We have a mat wicket. Firstly, I will make some grounds. We will make some grounds here. We need to arrange for indoor venues. Because in the winter, it is very cold here. We can help players in some way. If they can support the players financially, they will focus only on cricket. I will maybe make these changes.