“12 out of 15 in our squad have to work outside of cricket,” Italy stand-in captain Harry Manenti said after theirs historic T20 World Cup win against Nepal on Thursday.
“Crish is a good example. He just got man of the match in a World Cup game, yet he lives on pizza just to make ends meet.”
Coach John Davison, sitting next to Manenti, immediately imitated throwing pizza dough. “That’s why he can spin it,” he said with a smile.
“That’s why he can spin it both ways!” Manenti added with a laugh.
In the quiet, cobbled streets of Lucca, Tuscany, the rhythm of Crishan Kalugamage’s life has long been defined by the heat of the wood stove. By day, he’s a pizzaiolo—the man who stretches the dough and perfects the blistered crust of the classic Margherita. But while his hands were working the flour, his mind was once again surveying the dusty pitches of Negomba, Sri Lanka, and the wickets he was about to take.
Today, this dream has come true on the world stage. Kalugamage is no longer just Lucca’s favorite pizza maker. He is the man who secured Italy’s first ever T20 World Cup victory.
The wrist was at work on Thursday.
Against a Nepali side that pushed England to the brink at the Wankhede Stadium a few days ago, Italy arrived as regular outsiders. But Kalugamage spun the net that left Nepal’s middle order in knots, grabbing three wickets for a paltry 18 runs. It was a masterclass in control – a clinical spell that restricted Nepal to 123. The Mosca brothers, Justin and Anthony, then played the innings of their lives, chasing down the target without losing a single wicket to script a historic ten-wicket demolition.
After the match, a hopeful Davison asked a lone Italian reporter if a win would finally knock the Winter Olympics off the front pages. If so, the cover image will undoubtedly be Kalugamage.
FROM SRI LANKA TO ITALY
His journey began in Sri Lanka, where cricket is less of a sport and more of a matter of the heart. Growing up in Negombo, he idolized legends like Aravinda de Silva. A promising talent at youth level, his life took a sharp turn in 2007 when his parents emigrated to Italy. For the 16-year-old fanatic, moving to the land of Calcio felt like a sporting exile.
At one point he felt his cricketing dreams were over.
Also read: Cricket on side 1? The Italy coach hopes a T20 World Cup win will end the Winter Olympics
In Italy, bats and balls were replaced by heavy sacks of flour and grueling shifts in hospitality. However, the passion never cooled. He spent his early years playing informal tennis ball cricket with other immigrants and keeping the flame alive in parking lots and public parks.
Eventually, Kalugamage found his way to Roma Cricket Club. The journey was exhausting; he famously lost several jobs because he refused to work on Sundays – the restaurant’s busiest day, but the only day for a match.
When asked about the secret to his success, Kalugamage often joked about the “fingertip” connection, suggesting that stretching the dough for a perfect pizza and ripping a broken leg across the turf required the same delicate, decisive touch.
He was originally a handball player, but injuries forced him to convert to leg-spinner in 2021. Under Davison’s leadership, the transition was seamless and the pizza maker turned into a dangerous mystery weapon that few could read.
This weapon has now become a mainstay of an Italian side that is as multicultural as it is hardworking. The dressing room is a mosaic of the global diaspora – from spinners born in Sri Lanka to Italians born in South Africa and Australia – all united by Azzurri blue. It’s a team of everyday heroes: accountants, laborers and hospitality workers who trade their work boots for spikes when a national challenge comes.
CRICKET IN ITALY: THE FUTURE
For Captain Manenti, this victory is more than just an upset; it’s a raw, heartfelt plea for the survival of the sport in the land of footballers. He dreams of the day when his teammates can finally hang up their aprons and office lanyards and exchange their double lives for the unique dignity of professional cricketers. That victory against Nepal was a signal to the world that cricket had found a firm, fragile foothold in Italy – one that desperately needed support to keep it from slipping.
“We hope that in a few years, if not sooner, the game will grow enough in Italy to be able to play it,” Manenti said.
“And it’s up to us as a playing group to create those opportunities by winning games and showing the world what we can do. And then it’s up to other people and the federation and the ICC and other teams to be willing to play with us.”
Manenti is very aware of the mountain they are still climbing. Currently ranked 27th in the world in a tournament of just 20 teams, he knows the cold math of their match.
“If you do the math, we’re underdogs every time we play, no matter who we’re playing against – whether it’s Nepal or Scotland or England or the West Indies. We’ll always be underdogs, which we thrive on and we love that. But we don’t want to stay 27th. We want to go up.”
They need more than heart to climb; they need a seat at the table. Manenti’s vision goes far beyond this World Cup and looks to a future where the next generation won’t have to work in a pizzeria to fund their passion.
“We want other teams to host us and build a facility that will host them back. That’s our goal. It’s going to give kids who are currently learning the game at school level opportunities to see us play in Rome, Milan or Bologna – to see what the journey is like and see Harry Manenti or Anthony Mosca or Crishan. If that’s a goal for them, then we’ve created a path for them to follow.”
On Thursday, that journey looked real for the first time.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
February 13, 2026