Kobus Olivier: The administrator willing to take cricket forward in war hit Ukraine

A little before Ukraine entered a military conflict with their neighbors Russia, cricket had slowly started to find its footing in the nation. On the back of receiving some unsparing help from Dubai’s prominent cricket promotor, Shyam Bhatia, Kobus Olivier, the current CEO of the Ukraine Cricket Association, was the man instrumental in developing cricket at school levels in Ukraine. However, his desire to make the sport emerge in an otherwise football endearing nation could slowly be fading into oblivion. The culprit could well be the ongoing conflict in the European continent.

It all began when Bhatia’s foundation, Cricket for Care, sent some cricketing equipment to Olivier in Ukraine. Olivier was motivated by the help and held a strong desire to get Ukraine the official associate member status by the International Cricket Council (ICC). However, life has turned upside down for the veteran cricket coach, with his primary focus at this time being on preserving his own life in the midst of Russia launching missiles on Ukraine devastating innumerable homes and taking multiple lives across the nation. Olivier is currently keeping himself safe at his Kyiv apartment.

Why did I stay put? Its cricket: Kobus Olivier

Olivier could have easily escaped the war-torn nation when the conflict first started. However, his love for cricket and an undying ambition to see Ukraine embrace the sport kept him from leaving. Talking of the same, Olivier revealed that they are very close to achieving their dream of being an associate member having ticked all the boxes leading into the ICC membership committee deciding on the same in July.

“Why did I stay put? Firstly, it’s cricket. I have worked tirelessly for the past few years, working towards reaching our goal of seeing Ukraine become an official associate member of the ICC,” Olivier told the Khaleej Times.

“In July this year, the membership committee in ICC will make the decision. We have ticked all the boxes, we have met all the criteria. The application has been approved by the regional ICC office in Europe,” he added.