T20 WC 2022 Champions Set To Inspire Legacy Of Multicultural Inclusion

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Apr, 2022 ) :The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 has today unveiled its '2022 Champions', with 38 industry leaders signing on to support a global celebration of Australia's cultural diversity through the event, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday.

With less than 200 days to go until the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 gets underway, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has unveiled its '2022 Champions', who will aim to inspire a legacy of inclusion and belonging long after the winner is crowned at the MCG on Sunday 13 November.

An inspirational group of 38 leaders from a broad cross-section of communities around the country have committed their support as a '2022 Champion', to advocate for inclusion and diversity using the powerful platform of a home T20 World Cup.

With 16 international teams, featuring 45 matches being played across seven host cities, the T20 World Cup will provide a unique opportunity to connect cricket-loving communities together, showcasing multicultural Australia.

Champions include current Australian Test batter, Usman Khawaja, Adelaide Strikers' Fawad Ahmed and Jason Gillespie, former Australian Women's players Mel Jones OAM and Lisa Sthalekar, as well as chefs and restaurateurs, Adam Liaw, Diana Chan and Kishwar Chowdhury, and the Chair of UNICEF Australia, Ann Sherry AO.

Of the 38 '2022 Champions', 18 have returned for the men's event having supported the ICC Women's T20 World Cup initiative in 2020. Their support helped create a groundswell of momentum for women's sport in Australia, which culminated in a record 86,174 fans packing the MCG for the Final between Australia and India on International Women's Day.

Current Australian cricketer and 2022 Champion Usman Khawaja said: "Sport breaks down barriers, I couldn't speak English when I came to Australia and sport was the one thing that always enabled me to communicate and engage with others even though I couldn't speak the language," Khawaja said "There's no better place to celebrate cultural diversity than Australia, so at the T20 World Cup we just want to see people having fun, no matter where you are from or who you support." Chair of UNICEF Australia, Ann Sherry AO, said: "Seeing our cultural diversity on the pitch is key to how we see ourselves and how we engage with all cultural groups who are part of the broader cricket community � it is a powerful symbol of inclusion," Sherry said.

"Sport gives visibility to capability, so the fact that it comes in many different backgrounds and profiles, in front of a wide audience, makes diversity visible and positive." Local Organising Committee CEO, Michelle Enright, said: "On behalf of the ICC and the entire LOC, we are incredibly grateful to each and every Champion who has joined our team to embrace and celebrate Australia's cultural diversity through the shared love of cricket," Enright said.

"After the success of the women's program and seeing the positive impact it made on women's and girls' sport in this country, I'm excited to see what we can achieve this year as people start reconnecting with their community and look forward to new experiences together.

"We know sport has an unparalleled power to unite people, so we want to harness this energy to ensure the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a truly inclusive event where fans of all ages, backgrounds and generations can come together and celebrate.

"This Champions program goes to the heart of Cricket Australia's philosophy of being a sport for all Australians, so once again I'd like to thank our Champions for their support and I can't wait to work alongside them to share stories, learn about different cultures and connect through cricket." Following is the full list of the 2022 Champions for the Men's ICC T20 World Cup: Fawad Ahmed, Pakistani-born Australian Cricketer Shaniera Akram, Social worker and wife of Pakistani cricket legend Wasim Akram Russel Arnold, Former Sri Lankan Cricketer and Commentator Molina Asthana, President Elect - Law Institute of Victoria and Founder of Multicultural Women in Sport Alex Blackwell, ICC T20 World Cup Winning Captain Karina Carvalho, ABC news Presenter Diana Chan, Former winner Masterchef Australia, tv & Podcast Host & Restaurateur Kishwar Chowdhury, MasterChef Australia Finalist, Chef & Writer Kamrul Hossain Chowdhury OAM, Businessman and Social Worker Jeff Cook, Men's National Indigenous Cricket Team Head Coach and Former Cricketer Preeti Daga, Global Head - Corporate Communications, CHL Group and Chair of AIBC's sports Chapter Sonia Sadiq Gandhi, Director Gandhi Creations, board Member Multicultural NSW, Australia Day Ambassador 2022 Daren Ganga, Former West Indian Cricketer and Commentator Jason Gillespie, Former Australian Cricketer and Adelaide Strikers Coach Marina Go, Chair, Super Netball Giles Gunesekera, Founder & CEO of Global Impact Initiative Jodie Hawkins, GM of Commercial & Marketing, Swimming Australia Rana Hussain, Champions of Change, Program Director of the Sports Coalition Johann Jayasinha, National Operations & Media - SNNI Australia Mel Jones OAM, CA Director, Former Australian Cricketer and Cricket Broadcaster Usman Khawaja, Australian Cricketer & Founder of the Usman Khawaja Foundation Mary Konstantopoulos, Founder of Ladies Who Leg Spin Kath Koschel, Former Cricketer, Founder of Kindness Factory Australia and Kindness Factory USA Adam Liaw, Cook, Writer and Television presenter Pawan Luthra, CEO of Indian Link Media Group Morne Morkel, Former South African Paceman Sheba Nandkeolyar, Founder & CEO MultiConnexions Group Tanya Oziel, Chief Executive of the Trans-Tasman business Circle, Singapore Business Circle and Founder & Managing Director of SportsConnect Dipen Rughani, CEO of Newland Global Group G�n�l Serbest, CEO of Global Victoria Anupam Sharma, Filmmaker and Chair of Australia India Film Council Ann Sherry AO, Chair of UNICEF Australia Gurnam Singh, Founder of Australian-Indian Sports Educational and Cultural Society Giri Sivaraman, Chair of Multicultural Australia Lisa Sthalekar, Former captain of the Australian Women's Cricket Team, Cricket Commentator Bharat Sundaresan, Cricbuzz JournalistDavid Talalla, Former Cricketer for Malaysia and Match RefereeGus Worland, Triple M Broadcaster and Founder & Chair of Gotcha4Life