On Tuesday, Ireland’s quarterfinal hopes took a big hit when the Indianteam steamrolled past them for a massive 8 wicket win in Hamilton. Thanks to Dhoni and co. Ireland’s future at the World Cup now depends entirely on theirfinal group fixture against Pakistan on Sunday.
Their future in World cricket however, seems secure... thanks to an Indian.
Irish all-rounder John Mooney let the cat out of the bag while speaking to Indian Expressreporter Sandeep Dwivedi, saying “everybody in Cricket Ireland is grateful to Mr Mistry”.
On asking for further questioning, he elaborated, “Sha-poor-ji Pa-llon-ji. Our academy is sponsored by Shapoorji Pallonji. There is this guy called Mr Mistry, and he lives in Ireland and I think it came about through that and he wants to help develop cricket within Ireland.”
Mooney of course was referring to Pallonji Mistry, the founder of the SP group and father of Shapoor and Tata chief Cyrus Mistry. The 86-year old, with an estimated wealth of US $12 billion dollars, is Irish by virtue of marrying Ireland native Patsy. He is also the richest man in Ireland, and since 2014, one of the major backers of Irish cricket.
The partnership was announced in September last year with the SP group pumping in a seven-figure cash boost to Ireland Cricket. The 10-year sponsorship deal will see the entire sum being dedicated towards developing the next generation of country’s cricketer at the Cricket Ireland Academy.
At the announcement, Mistry said that as “Irish citizens”, his family viewed this partnership as a “small contribution, as a token of gratitude towards Ireland”.
The ‘giant killers’ of course need all the help they can get, to continue their struggle for recognition. At WC15, Ireland have held their own – beating higher ranked teams like West Indies and Zimbabwe as well as the UAE.
So maybe…more than the money the Mistrys give Irish cricket, it is the confidence that one of the business world’s most astute minds has seen something to invest in the green jerseys.
Another good investment?
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)