INTERVIEW
Follow UsWhen the list of players who will be up for grabs at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction was announced, it was revealed that one representative from Italy would be present.
Italy are not a renowned cricketing nation, even among the associates, but it does possess some high-quality players, mainly with Australian backgrounds —Joe Burns, the Manenti brothers, Wayne Madsen, and their captain-coach, Gareth Berg, among others.
While the expectation was that it was going to be one of the above, one name came out of the blue - Thomas Draca, an up-and-coming Sydney-born pacer.
In almost a funny fashion, Draca insisted that if not for his agent, he might not have even been amongst the mix for the upcoming auction.
“It was actually my agent who contacted me and said, do you want to give it a crack? I just signed with the MI Emirates [ILT20]. So, being affiliated with Mumbai and having that link, I mean, you never know,” Draca told Cricket.com.
“So, yeah, it was actually my agent who kind of told me to have a crack and be registered and yeah, Italy signed off on it.”
Draca rose to prominence at the Global T20 Canada 2024, where he finished as Brampton Wolves’ leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps, including that of Sunil Narine, at an economy rate of 6.88.
“For me, it [GT20] was a breakthrough tournament,” Draca said.
“I didn't even get picked up in the draft and was later picked up as an injury replacement. I had a trial with Dougie Brown [former UAE coach] over in Dubai a couple of months before, and he suggested playing freely and getting that associate card.”
“I bowled quite well. It was a great tournament for me and was well organised. To be a part of Brampton Wolves was a great kind of set-up with Dougie leading that. And Davey Warner was my captain. So that was quite cool. I mean, I've grown up watching Davey, so to play with him was unreal. But that tournament was a breakthrough tournament for me, and it was great to be a part of that team.”
Before the Global T20, though, Draca was picked by the MI Emirates at the International League T20 (ILT20) and trained with the team in the UAE, but he did not play an official game for them. So, it is definitely not a surprise as to which team he would want to play for if he gets picked at the IPL.
“I would take anything. But I think for now the most realistic pick would probably be the Mumbai Indians,” Draca, who has played four T20Is for Italy, said.
“You look at their success to be a part of a franchise, they're quite established with many other leagues. So I would say the most realistic people would probably be Mumbai [Indians].”
What left us shell-shocked was that Draca grew up admiring and looking up to Hardik Pandya, with whom he might possibly share a dressing room in the near future if he gets picked at the IPL.
“Deep down, I would say, I've always grown up watching Hardik Pandya. I feel like he's kind of a celebrity off the field and he's a bit of a show pony, and I like that,” Draca said.
“I kind of see myself as a bit like that. So, I like how he goes about the game being fearless. He bowls very quick. When he gets it right, he's a show. He wins games, doesn't he? So I would say, Hardik Pandya.
“And, you know, a guy who's kind of gone through a similar journey to me would probably have to be Pat Cummins, over in Australia. So, I've got to go back to my Australian roots. So I'd say Pat Cummins. He's been the one that I've looked up to for many years as well,” the 24-year-old further added.
Draca, a skiddy, stump-to-stump bowler who can bowl at a decent pace, trained with former Australia pacer Dennis Lillee, with whom he shares a close bond from a young age. However, he now continues his training at his university in Exeter, where he is currently doing a course in marketing and business management.
“I've been training currently at the university. I'm on a scholarship there. So we have great facilities at the university. So, I've got a couple of really good S&Cs [Strength & Conditioning]. My bowling coach is Dennis Lillee. I actually call him my uncle. He's a very close mentor of mine back home. And he's been with me since I was about 14-15. So Dennis is kind of overlooking all my programmes,” he said.
“I had him when I was a young kid, and he always said, just persevere, and you've got something about you. So, I've always kept that kind of belief.”
“In 2018, unfortunately, I had an issue with my back. So I was introduced to one of the state physios back home, a guy called Aaron Lewis. And he's now got his own fast bowling kind of programming camp over in Sydney. And, I work with him as well. So I've got a lot of people now, probably about three or four S&Cs and a lot of physios, but I'm currently over in the UK, based out of Exeter, where I'm doing all my programme and training at the university.”
“I recently flew across to Barbados to meet another S&C who works with Carlos Brathwaite, and he's worked in the CPL for a bit. So, yeah, he's now taking me on.”
Moreover, he did not move up the ranks through the usual pathway channels in Australia but started playing grade cricket in Sydney for Blacktown Cricket Club when he was just seven. However, it was his move to South Australia at the age of 20 that really hardened him up as a fast bowler.
“I was 20, I moved over to South Australia, and I was part of the Redbacks kind of emerging programme that they have over there, which is like just after the [under] 19s and play grade cricket in South Australia. And that's I think, where I kind of hardened me up as a fast bowler in Sydney.
“I played a season over there, and then I moved over to the UK. And I haven't been back home since. It's been three years now.”
T20 World Cup on the cards?
Draca qualifies to play for Italy through his mother, who hails from Bellosguardo, a small village outside Naples. The pacer finished as Italy’s second-highest wicket-taker at the Sub Regional Europe Qualifier Group A 2024, with eight scalps (ER 4.25) to help his side progress to the European Regional final.
The regional final will consist of some of the top associate sides, like Scotland and the Netherlands, who have played plenty of World Cups in the past. In the African Qualifiers last year, Uganda beat one of the biggest teams in the tournament—Zimbabwe—to book their place at the mega event, where they registered a win over Papua New Guinea. Can Italy do something along the same lines? It is certainly a possibility.
Draca reveals Italy’s dream of playing at a World Cup has been in the works for some time now.
“This isn't just a spur-of-a-moment thing. It was the kind of idea that the player-coach Gareth Berg, who's played many years of county cricket over in the UK. He reached out in 2019 and explained to me the vision of Italy.
“This has been a work in progress for many years, so to be a part of that quite late, and that established team was quite, you know, obviously a good achievement for me and a great opportunity for me to showcase what I could do,” Draca said.
“When we get a full-strength team together, we can match with the big boys, especially in the associate comp. So, yeah, it's quite exciting. And I feel like if we go out there and perform and all click like we did in the qualifiers. I feel like we could have a really good chance of getting to the World Cup.”
While playing in the IPL and at a World Cup is the dream of plenty of young cricketers across the globe, only a few realise it. Draca is on his way to achieving both in a short span of two years.
(All images courtesy Thomas Draca & Cricket Italy Insta)
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