India, Feb. 8 -- For several decades, Italy hasn't just played football, it has defined the sport. From sun-bleached piazzas to roaring cathedrals and the Amalfi coast to the streets of Milan and Turin, football has been woven into Italy's national identity as tightly as art, food and history.

Against that backdrop, the idea of Italy playing a cricket World Cup is pretty inconceivable. And yet, here they are, eager to leave a mark in their first splash in the T20 World Cup.

Not one member of the squad was born in Italy, nor do they have a proper turf wicket. Even now, cricket is a pretty confusing game for most Italians, a visiting journalist picking baseball, croquet and polo as the sports most commonly mistaken as cricket. Needless to...