Malaysian Cricket Association's (MCA) newly elected president Iqbal Ali Kassim Ali has big dreams for cricket in the country.
He wants to promote and develop the sport and turn Malaysia into a top team one day.
Iqbal, a former national cricketer, thanked Mahinda Vallipuram, who had done a fantastic job in his last three terms as president of MCA.
"The previous administration did a great job by raising RM4.6 million in sponsorship thanks to Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD).
"We are using the sponsorship to run initiatives like the Cricket Adiwira Programme and the Women's Development Programme," said Iqbal, who garnered 28 votes to beat challenger Venu Ganesh Naidu Ramadas, who received only 11 votes, for the top post last week.
"The Adiwira programme is an initiative to promote cricket in schools. We supply equipment so that students can pick up the game.
"We also want to develop our women's team. I believe our women's team have the potential to match Thailand, who are ranked 11th in the T20 world rankings, one day.
"Our women's team are now ranked 38th in the world.
"However, for this to happen, we need support from the government and corporate sector to get to the next level.
"We need to turn cricket into an industry.
"A holistic approach will help us achieve it and create several career paths for cricketers."
Iqbal also wants to change the perception of Malaysians who think cricket is only for the elite.
"Cricket is for everyone, and we want all levels of society to play the game.
"For now, cricket is only popular in boarding schools. However, we want to promote it to all schools.
"Currently, we have 10 centres of excellence nationwide to promote and produce quality players.
"If we can get more financial support, we can do better. We want to reach out to everyone in the country," he added.
MCA office bearers (2021-23)
President: Iqbal Ali Kassim Ali;
Deputy president: Dr Arun Kumar Beshamber Nath;
Vice President: Datuk Ahmad Feisal Ahmad Tajuddin and Gordon Chung;
Honorary Secretary: Conrad Young;
Honorary Treasurer: Mahnorizal Mahat;
Executive committee: K. Balakrishnan, Nordin Abdullah, Rekha Mahendran, Amarjeet Singh;
Affiliates committee: Idris Abd Rahman, Dr Razli Ramli.