Swiss cricket: Newest kid on the block has a strong subcontinent flavour

Among the players, those from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Jamaica

There’s a batsman in the side who calls himself the ‘Afghan Kohli’; a Jamaican ex-cop who is a pace bowler and tries to keep the opposing batsmen honest; one of the coaches – Baljit Singh – is a Sikh who has represented the Danish national side; and, five players, each, are of Indian and Pakistani origins; and one each is from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

That’s the Switzerland national cricket squad for you – the newest kids on the block, having got an associate nation status from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2021. Sub-continent flavour or domination in most lesser-known cricketing nations in Europe is a fact, and Switzerland is no exception.     

The team has just completed the group stage of the European Cricket Championship T10 tournament (10 overs a side) in Spain, where they finished third out of five teams, having a 50 per cent win record with four wins in eight matches. In fact, they had a dream debut – winning their first three matches, beating Romania twice along with Germany. The others in the group were Italy (who qualified for the final) and Norway. Each team also played a knockout game on October 7, where the Swiss lost to the Germans.   

Asad Mahmood was the top run-scorer from the side, amassing 192 runs across nine matches, scoring a 50. Jamaican Kenardo Fletcher stood out as the pace bowler, taking 12 wickets across nine games with the best figures of 3 for 19. Jay Sinh played the all-rounder’s part, scoring 97 runs and taking seven wickets in nine games, including a hat-trick against Germany.

“We are just starting our journey within the ICC universe; so it’s early days. We remain excited to grow and compete at an international level,” says head coach Yateendra Sinh. Before moving to Switzerland in 2000, Sinh was part of the Oberoi Hotels between 1990 and 1997, and was also the executive assistant to Ravi Bhoothalingam, then president of the Oberoi Group.

But how does one imagine cricket in Switzerland – the snow-clad mountains of which are associated more with Bollywood’s romantic songs?

“We play on football fields, on cabbage patches and interestingly, there’s cricket on ice. We play on a frozen lake in temperatures around minus 15 degrees, and regularly have players suffering from sunburn,” says Sinh.

The Swiss side has players who either have a full-time job or are students. Five hold a Swiss passport, while others play for the country through the permanent residency eligibility criteria of the ICC.

Occupation-wise, too, the team’s mix is quite vibrant: From engagement in accounts and logistics activities to Swiss staple – tourism and hospitality – to running restaurants and engaging in catering business. There is also a skilled technician who works in an engineering firm, while another is a salesperson at a store. Fletcher is a fitness instructor. The students are either pursuing economics or business-related subjects or are looking for jobs.

The captain, Arjun Vinod, has his origins in Kerala, while Aneesh Kumar was once part of the Kerala Ranji Trophy squad. The lone player from Afghanistan is Noorkhan Ahmadi.  

Like any of the minnows in cricket, the Swiss team also prides itself in being a good fielding side, taking care of the controllables. The more skilful part – bowling and batting – will take some time to flourish. But they are trying and there are healthy signs.

In T20 World Cup Qualifiers held in July this year, opening batsman Faheem Nazir scored over a century each against Estonia (107 not out of 68 balls) and the Czech Republic (113 of 67 balls), and pacer Jai took a five-wicket haul against Luxembourg (5 for 23). 

The Switzerland national cricket team 

Name	Nationality	Origin	ICC Status
Arjun Vinod (C)	Swiss	India	Citizen
Ashwin Vinod	Swiss	India	Citizen
Aneesh Kumar	India	India	Eligible on residency
Ali Nayyer	Pakistan	Pakistan	Eligible on residency
Asad Mahmood	Swiss	Pakistan	Citizen
Faheem Nazir	Pakistan	Pakistan	Eligible on residency
Izhar Hussain	Pakistan	Pakistan	Eligible on residency
Jai Sinh	India	India	Eligible on residency
Kenardo Fletcher	Jamaica	Jamaica	Eligible on residency
Murali Gnanasegaram	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	Eligible on residency
Noorkhan Ahmadi	Afghanistan	Afghanistan	Eligible on residency
Sathya Narayanan (WK)	Swiss	India	Citizen
Stefan Franklin	Swiss	Swiss	Citizen