FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 CEO Nasser Al Khater has invited India’s cricket World Cup winning squads of 1983 and 2011 in Qatar to experience the biggest sporting extravaganza of the planet.
The FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in the Middle Eastern nation in the winter of 2022.
Nasser Al Khater agreed upon the fact that cricket is a major sport in India.
“It’s safe to say that this World Cup (Qatar 2022) is for all of us to celebrate. I think I’ve to say, we look forward to welcoming you there (in Qatar),” Khater said at an awards function in Mumbai.
“I didn’t realise how big cricket was in India. So, I know that there are some members from the 1983 World Cup winning team, that beat the West Indies, are here (at the awards function). And there are members from the team that won the (cricket) World Cup in 2011. I extend you a special invitation to come & attend the football World Cup in Qatar.”
Apart from the cricketers, the organizing committee also extended their invitation to the Indian footballers.
India has so far managed to win two World Cups in cricket. The historic feat came first in 1983 after Kapil Dev guided the Men in Blue to a stunning upset against the mighty West Indies at the Lord’s Stadium. 28 years later, it was the wicketkeeper-skipper MS Dhoni who stewarded India to a second title on home turf. This time around the Men in Blue defeated Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium to lift the elusive title on home soil.
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India is presently gearing up to compete in the third World Cup. The cricket showpiece will kick off in England and Wales later in the summer this year. Under the able captaincy of Virat Kohli, Team India have emerged as a force to reckon with in the ODI format. They have managed to reach the Champions Trophy final as well as the 2018 Asia Cup.
Virat Kohli’s record as a captain has been impeccable, having lost only one ODI series under him.
India would thus be entering the tournament as firm favourites. Apart from India, the hosts England, the No.1 ranked ODI team, are expected to be a tough match for India at the tournament. It was in England that India had lost their only bilateral series under Kohli last summer.
