‘We make most money when Team India comes to play, it’s our biggest income stream’: Jamaica Cricket president

Expressing gratitude after receiving 100 cricket kits from India president Ram Nath Kovind, Jamaica Cricket Association president Wilfred Billy Heaven said it’s a proud moment for his people.

Heaven said that Jamaica Cricket earns the most whenever Team India tours the West Indies and plays in the Sabina Park. “Whenever India play any match in Caribbean, a lot of people see those matches between India and West Indies. We make the most money whenever Team India come here to play and it’s our biggest income stream at Cricket West Indies,” Heaven told news agency ANI.

President Kovind, who is on a four-day visit to the Caribbean nation of Jamaica, presented a symbolic gift of cricket kits to Jamaica Cricket Association, as a mark of cricket cooperation between the two nations.

“This is a proud moment, for me personally and for the cricket fraternity in Jamaica. As Jamaica Cricket Association, we are indeed happy that this gift is coming from India, it’s mega cricket in the world. We will be getting 100 kits and that’s a lot. It has been planned that half of them will be given to the high schools,” Heaven said.

The Jamaica Cricket president further added that this will only make the bond between the two nations strong as there are lot of young cricket enthusiasts in Jamaica who want to make it big in cricket and ultimately play in the IPL like Andre Russell and Chris Gayle.

“Students over here are interested in playing but it’s quite expensive. After this, you may see a lot of young cricketers coming from Jamaica. They will be playing in IPL, as currently 17 Caribbean players are playing IPL, out of which four are from Jamaica. This will strengthen the bond between India and Jamaica,” he added.

The Jamaican cricket president further said that a cricket development program has been established to nurture the young cricketers.

“We have established a cricket development program at the youth level. We have a lot of young players coming through. In the years to come, many pacers and batters coming up from Jamaica,” he said.