In Kolkata, on February 15, Wayne Madsen, the captain of Italy, stated that it would be "a difficult" return for their T20 World Cup match against England, as he continues to recover from a dislocated left shoulder. He added that a more realistic return might be against the West Indies later in the week.
Italy, who achieved their first-ever World Cup victory in their last match, will face England in a crucial Group C encounter here on Monday, as the Super Eights race intensifies.
Madsen had dislocated his left shoulder during the fourth over of Italy's opening match against Scotland, and he missed their match against Nepal.
"I've obviously tried to push as much as possible over the last couple of days, allowing it to settle and then pushing. However, it hasn't responded as well as I'd hoped in the last 24 hours, so I think tomorrow will be challenging," Madsen said at Eden Gardens on the eve of the match.
"We'll see how things go over the next few days. However, when you sustain an injury, like a dislocation, it all depends on the symptoms, and unfortunately, it hasn't recovered as well as I would have liked."
"But we still have Thursday to assess the situation and see how things go over the next few days."
After a one-sided loss to Scotland in their opening match, Italy bounced back strongly with a commanding 10-wicket win over Nepal, their maiden victory in a World Cup.
"In terms of the World Cup experience, I think we are really embracing it as a team. We know it comes with its challenges and its ups and downs," he said.
"I think there was a lot of emotion and energy in what we did at Wankhede. And we've had a few days off to be able to recover and re-energize and refocus."
"For us to compete with the bigger teams, we have to be aggressive. We can't just take punches. So we have to be the ones making plays."
Asked about facing teams like England and the West Indies, Madsen said that clarity in planning would be key.
"We know they have a lot of quality throughout their team, but for us, it's really focusing on our game plans and being clear in our minds about the options guys will take. We're pretty clear on that side of things, and the messaging within our playing group is clear."
"We're not just here to make up numbers; we're here to perform and win games of cricket. We're going to do everything in our power to do that tomorrow."
"Yes, we're playing against a really good team, but so are we, and we believe in our abilities. As a group, we have a real team spirit and ethos, which is exciting to be a part of. So, in terms of your question, could we do it again? Of course, we can."
Italy’s historic win over Nepal was headlined by the Mosca brothers – Justin and Anthony – who remained unbeaten on 60 and 62 respectively.
Their unbroken 124-run stand became the first century partnership by siblings in T20 World Cup history and the highest sibling partnership in all T20 Internationals.
"What the Mosca brothers did for us at Wankhede was truly special. And we've touched on how well the team played as a whole. We were brilliant in the field, and with the ball, we executed our plans exceptionally well," Madsen said.
The captain also highlighted the challenges faced by Associate nations in terms of funding and exposure.
"For us, a big thing is exposure and funding, being able to travel as a team and play these matches and series and tournaments. It's not easy because we don't necessarily have a lot of funding. We are hoping to get more through sponsorships and funding from our performances."
"That's part of what we're doing here at the World Cup. We're putting our name on the map and saying we are good enough and we want to be playing more series and competitions against some of the top Associate teams and even some of the full member teams."
On reports that the Italian board is in talks with the BCCI for support, Madsen said he was not aware of any official developments.
"That is probably above my pay grade. No, no, I know as much as you in terms of that regard. Any discussions I'm sure will be had at board level around that sort of stuff. So, that would be fantastic if the – I'm sure – I'd like to hope that the discussions are there, and we would be obviously really grateful for any support that we could get around developing the game in Italy."
