Karachi: Joining the band of players pushing for cricket's inclusion in the Olympics, Pakistan's present and former captains Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan said with the advent of Twenty20, the sport could easily fit into the Games' schedule.
After Adam Gilchrist, Steve Waugh, Stephen Fleming, Sourav Ganguly and Kumar Sangakkara, Malik and Younis also said cricket deserved to be a part of the biggest sporting extravaganza on the planet.
The International Cricket Council is targeting a place in the 2012 Olympics or 2016 with the Twenty20 version.
"We are all professional cricketers and I for one would really like to take part in the Olympics which are the biggest global sporting event," Malik said on Tuesday.
"It would be great to go to the Olympics and play cricket. The length of a match is a factor which has dissuaded the organizers from considering cricket as a Olympic sport but with Twenty20 cricket coming into play things have changed," Malik stated.
He said the ICC and the International Olympic Committee should find a way to include cricket in the Olympic Games.
Younis said cricket was one of the top five sports in the world and should be part of the Olympic Games.
"Other team games are played in the Olympics so why not cricket? I am not concerned what type of cricket makes it to the Olympics, be it over 10-over version, 20 overs or 50-50 but it must be there," Younis said.
Younis also called upon all teams to tour Pakistan insisting they had nothing to fear here.
"All teams should visit Pakistan with confidence as it is a very safe place and also as we provide the best security in the world to cricketers," he added.
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Posted By MOHAMMED RIYAZI
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