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Pakistani-origin Italy batter Zain Naqvi has named Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam and England’s explosive wicketkeeper Jos Buttler as his cricketing idols.
Italy recently created history by securing qualification for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, their first-ever appearance at the global event.
They finished second in the Europe Region Final, with the Netherlands topping the table. The 2026 edition of the tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
In an exclusive conversation with ARY News, Zain said qualifying for the mega event had been a collective dream and the result of year-long preparation.
“Our team had one goal, to qualify for the [T20] World Cup,” he said.
“We’ve been preparing for the qualifiers for over a year. Beating Scotland was a major achievement for us.”
Naqvi, who originally hails from Kot Jaffar, a village in Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan, moved to Italy with his parents at the age of 12.
He shared that his grandfather had always dreamt of seeing him play international cricket for Italy.
“I started with tape-ball cricket, like most of the Pakistani community here,” he said.
“Eventually, I moved into professional cricket and earned my place in the national side through consistent performances in domestic competitions.”
Zain Naqvi admitted that cricket still trails far behind football in terms of popularity in Italy, and acknowledged it will take time for the sport to grow.
“Cricket doesn’t get much attention here; most people are focused on football,” he said.
“Italy doesn’t get many international fixtures from the ICC either, but now that we’ve qualified for the World Cup, we hope to get more opportunities.”
He added that efforts are underway to promote the game at the grassroots level across Italy.
“We’re actively working to promote cricket at the grassroots level,” he added.
When asked about his cricketing idols, Zain named Babar Azam as his favourite player, while also revealing that he models his batting style after England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler.
“I really admire Babar Azam,” he said. “And in terms of playing style, I try to follow Jos Buttler.”
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