Thomas Draca and the Italian cricket team (Image credit: Special Arrangement) NEW DELHI: Italian all-rounder Thomas Draca is eager to take the field and soak in the sea of support from his country at the T20 World Cup. Long hailed as a football-mad nation that has produced legends such as Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio and Francesco Totti, Italy is now writing a new chapter – one that will put cricket on the national sporting map. Draca is determined to live every moment, especially chants of “Forza Italia! Forza Italia!” Italy will take to the field for the T20 World Cup against Scotland on Monday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.Draco was just six years old when Italy won the FIFA World Cup in 2006. This, their fourth victory, came after a thrilling 5-3 penalty shoot-out win over France, a moment that left a lasting impression on the young sports enthusiast.
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“That moment will be surreal. It’s a dream come true. I was only six years old when Italy won the FIFA World Cup in 2006 and that was probably the first World Cup I watched. It’s funny, I was rooting for Australia at the time. People often joke about comparing Italian football and Italian cricket. The football team didn’t qualify for the World Cup in Nepal for a while. The commentators kept saying, ‘Thomas Draca is playing in the Cricket World Cup, when the football team can’t even get there.’ That line always appears. I was six when they won and now here we are,” Draca told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“Football was my main sport growing up. I played until about 2016 and came through the academy systems in Australia. In 2013 I went to Stoke City in the UK to try professionally and in 2014 I played in the MIC Cup in Spain against teams from Madrid and Barcelona. That’s when I really saw that the standard in Europe was lagging and I realized that I had moved on to a different level and I was at the professional level. I played cricket casually at that time – backyard cricket, just for fun. But over time cricket became my real love.For Draco – who has played nine T20Is and taken 11 wickets in his career – the sport at home has always been a battle between football and cricket. His father loved football and his mother loved cricket. “My dad never pushed me into anything. He always told me to choose what I wanted to do. Some of my extended family were probably a bit disappointed when I gave up football, but now they’re all for my cricket. During the Ashes, my mum suddenly started watching cricket – something I’d never seen before. She even called me to ask about Pat Cummins’ haircut. That was probably the first time she’d ever spoken to me about it, which sport I chose, when they saw that I was serious, they fully supported me, looking back, I am glad I chose cricket,” he said.SURE to beat the “BIG” TEAMSItaly secured a historic berth in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup by defeating hosts Netherlands in the European regional final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.This milestone is not only significant for Thomas Draco, but signals the beginning of a new era of cricket in Italy as a whole.Italy, drawn in a tough group alongside Scotland, West Indies, Nepal and England, are set to make their first appearance on the world stage.With little external hype surrounding the squad, Draca remains confident and believes Italy have the talent and energy to compete with – and even upset – the big teams at the tournament.After the match against Scotland on Monday, Italy will face Nepal on February 12, England on February 16 and the West Indies on February 19.“Our group is strong, but if we can get one or two early wins and then go into the England round of 16 with momentum, you never know in T20 cricket – anything can happen. We’re coming off a tri-series against Ireland where we lost 1-2 and every game was extremely close. The margins were tight and we felt in the third game that Stewar hit the six finals.” the series that sealed the victory showed what we are capable of Performances like this earlier in the series could also have changed the results,” he added. “We have a strong coaching staff and an open environment where ideas are constantly being shared. We are focused on being the best prepared team we can be. The challenge now is Scotland and we are ready. If we can knock off the West Indies or England it could really make people sit up and take notice. We are excited about the challenge and will give it our all,” he said.INDIAN FOOD ON DRACINA TO-DO LISTOf all his plans, Draco made it his top priority to try different Indian cuisines on this trip.“I’d like to experience different foods and cultures. I didn’t leave the hotel much when I was in Nepal, so this time I promised myself to get out, explore, visit some tourist spots and really take in the culture. A couple of friends are also flying to India and we’re planning to do it together. It should be a great opportunity to really experience everything and try different foods,” said Draca.
