Canada's Karnataka-born Shreyas Movva Calls T20 World Cup Homecoming a Dream

Having played four ODI World Cups, Canada will start their second Men's T20 World Cup campaign against the UAE at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday. Canada lost their campaign opener against South Africa by 57 runs, making 156/8 in 20 overs while chasing 214 runs.

Movva has played 25 T20Is for Canada, scoring 335 runs in 21 innings at an average of 22.18 and a strike rate of over 107, with a best score of 37. In 25 ODIs, he has scored 468 runs in 22 innings at an average of 29.25, with three fifties and a best score of 68.

First off, on his second T20 World Cup appearance for Canada, that too in his home country, Shreyas said to ANI, "This is like a dream come true. I played some games in India. Coming back to India for the World Cup, it is another level for me. It has been five years for me with Cricket Canada. This is my second World Cup, and we won against Ireland in the last World Cup, and we are looking to win more than one year."

Shreyas, 32, completed his engineering in his home state and decided to take a break from cricket for Karnataka, featuring in the zonals and probables teams of the state. But his decision to pursue his master's degree took him to Montreal, where his cricketing journey advanced further and culminated in his international debut in 2021.

"After my engineering, I took one year break for my cricket in Karnataka. I played as the Zonals and Probables team, and then I thought I should do the Masters. Then I went for Masters in Software Engineering in Concordia, Montreal. That is how I joined there. I used to play weekend games for the club cricket, then I performed in my provincial team, like it is a state team, and then they gave me opportunity to one of the selections (selection camp), and I performed there, and then from there I was part of the Canada team," he added.

Shreyas looks up to Rahul Dravid not just for his cricketing prowess but also for his humility, noting that Dravid's simplicity is inspiring: he stands in line for lunch like any other cricketer and treats everyone equally.

"I have seen him in person, not because of the cricket, it has because of the outside things. Rahul is a down to earth person. There was a zonals match happening for us in Karnataka. I saw him silently coming, looking at everyone and then coming in the line for the lunch. We used to have a lunch line, so he was just in the line, and he was just a simple guy. There was no fuss about it," he recalled with a smile.

He also said he met the Indian legend while coaching the Men in Blue during the 2024 T20 WC and received an Indian team jersey from him. Besides going as far as possible in the tournament, he also really wants to get this jersey signed by Dravid.

"So that is where I got to know Dravid sir and then I met him in the 2024 World Cup. He gave me the jersey. I could not able to get his signature but I am looking forward to getting one signature before I leave India," he added.

Shreyas recalled that he had an amazing experience with the Canada Super 60, thanks to Yuvraj Singh's initiative, providing a great opportunity for local players to learn from the best.

"Recently, we had a Canada Super 60 started by Yuvi Paji. It helped everyone to the next level. We met a lot of international players, the calibre, what they bring into the game, and how they bring it to the game. So we learned from that, and the hospitality from Yuvi Paji's team was really good for us. So it was a really good experience, and we have another one, Global T20, that is also doing wonders for the players," he added.

He hailed the ICC's decision to expand the T20 World Cup to 20 teams, which has indeed given other teams opportunities to shine on the global stage.

Shreyas further said that it's exciting to see new teams and players get a chance to wow the fans.

"First of all, I would like to thank ICC for making this WC of 20 teams, instead of 12 or 14. They gave us opportunity, other teams to come and showcase their talent. Everyone has a talent. T20 game, everyone can have their day. So that is what it is for, entertainment and hope the fans are getting excited for every team, and they support associate players also," he concluded.

- ANI