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Sun, Dec 22, 2024 | Jumada al-Aakhirah 21, 1446 | DXB
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Exclusive: Despite the military conflict, this man would never desert cricket and Ukraine
Kobus Olivier is the man who planted the seeds of cricket in Ukraine after a generous Dubai resident extended a helping hand
Kobus Olivier (right, back row), Dinesh Kothari, Andrei Pilleroa, Shyam Bhatia and students at Astor Irpin School in Ukraine. (Supplied photo)
Until the start of the deadly military conflict, a cricket culture was beginning to bloom at school levels in Ukraine.
Kobus Olivier is the man who planted the seeds of cricket in Ukraine after a generous Dubai resident extended a helping hand.
But now the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II, is threatening to ruin Olivier’s dreamland that he built with the help of Dubai’s well-known cricket promoter, Shyam Bhatia.
It was after Bhatia’s foundation, Cricket for Care, sent equipment to Olivier that cricket found its feet in the football-mad Ukraine.
Everything was on track as the veteran South African coach was inching towards his goal of making Ukraine an official associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
But now Olivier is stuck in his Kyiv apartment with his four dogs – Tickey, Ollie, Kaya and Jessie – in the midst of Russian missiles that have brought indescribable pain and suffering to thousands of Ukrainians.
Olivier, who is also the CEO of the Ukraine Cricket Federation, could have easily escaped the mayhem.
But this former Dubai resident said he did not want to let ‘cricket, Ukraine and his four adorable dogs’ down.
“Why did I stay put? Firstly, it’s cricket. I have worked tirelessly for the past few years, working towards reaching our goal of seeing Ukraine become an official associate member of the ICC,” Olivier told the Khaleej Times over the phone from Kyiv on Tuesday.
“In July this year, the membership committee in ICC will make the decision. We have ticked all the boxes, we have met all the criteria. The application has been approved by the regional ICC office in Europe.”
Kobus Olivier wants to see Ukraine become an official associate member of the International Cricket Council. (Ukraine Cricket Federation website)
Remarkably, when Olivier left Dubai for Ukraine to start a new career as an English teacher, he never thought he would return to cricket ever again.
“I thought I was finished with cricket when I came here from Dubai because I had been doing cricket for so many years in so many countries. So I thought this was a nice break from cricket,” said Olivier who had coached young cricketers in South Africa, Kenya, the Netherlands and Dubai.
“I started teaching English in one of the big schools here. Then one day I was talking to Mr Bhatia, and he said, ‘why don’t you start cricket with the kids in Ukraine?’
“I thought why not. But I needed equipment, so he immediately sent me several sets of cricket equipment. He paid for everything, including the courier charges. So I received the equipment from him and I started playing cricket with the children.
“They absolutely loved it, it was something completely new to them. They had never seen a cricket bat, they did not know what cricket was, but it just took off. You know the Ukrainian kids loved it, hitting a ball, catching a ball because they had been playing football all their life, they had been playing basketball, which is very popular here. But they were absolutely fascinated by cricket.”
From training kids to teaching physical education teachers in schools the basics of cricket, Olivier gradually helped cricket grow at the grassroots levels in Ukraine.
“I have worked non-stop with the Ukrainian Cricket Federation, with Mr Hardeep Singh, the president of the cricket federation, and Mr Shyam Bhatia who has been playing a very, very prominent role in this whole process,” he said.
“As the official patron of the Ukrainian Cricket Federation, Mr Bhatia has been assisting us. I have got so many people backing me. I didn’t feel like letting them down after the war broke out.
“So it’s impossible for me to desert this project now. It’s become more than a passion, it has become an obsession for me to see Ukraine become an associate member of the ICC. For these young cricketers, it will be the opportunity of a lifetime.”
But Olivier admitted that Kyiv could soon face the same fate as Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city that has been battered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“I am terrified by all of this, but by talking to people it takes my mind off it,” he said while hoping that the crisis would end sooner than later.
“Hopefully, it will end soon and we can restart our cricket programme. I am at my happiest when I am coaching little kids.”
Rituraj Borkakoty
Rituraj Borkakoty is Sports Editor and has spent more than two decades writing on his sporting heroes. He also loves an underdog story, so if you have one, share it with him. He would love to bring it to life.
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