WHETHER or not you’re a fan of cricket or you’ve been following the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) this year, the names Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfance Rutherford must have been heard by you at some point in time.

Importantly, for me, the young men are 20 and 21 years old and are playing alongside some very seasoned, international T20 players. More than that, they have managed to play on par with these players.

And in refining their talents, I think it is critical that they play with these players that have a wealth of knowledge and experience. I think it’s one thing to compete against these players but to play alongside them, in the way that the CPL allows, lets the guys boost their skills.

I might not understand the underlying dynamics, but it has always bugged me that many of the top, young local athletes go abroad to study and develop their sport skills. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that they have the opportunity to pursue their dreams but I also wish that there were ways that this could be done right in Guyana, at a high standard.

But on the flip side, there are those sportspersons who go abroad, garner a wealth of knowledge and return to pay it forward. There are some who, although they don’t return to Guyana immediately, remain committed to representing the country in their respective fields and keep the Golden Arrowhead flying high. Take Troy Doris for example! And remember Chantoba Bright? She left only recently for the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), after receiving a full scholarship from the NCAA Division One school, but has affirmed her drive to return and contribute to her country.

The phenomenon of the brain drain is real, no doubt, but are we letting our sport talent also drain away? Are our athletes being lost in the pool of persons that migrate?

With these questions in mind, I think now more than ever it is critical for the government to invest in developing sport facilities.

I recall an interview I did with Jamaican artistes Duane Stephenson and Mackeehan Solomon recently. They spoke of how much emphasis Jamaica places on sports and developing their athletes and called for Guyana to pick up this mantle too.

It’s not because Jamaica can boast of having the likes of Usain Bolt (though that is a huge plus), but because most people in the country generally believe that sports are a key part of social development, especially for the youths.

And I don’t think that’s a far-fetched theory. I, too, genuinely believe that sports have a fundamental role in the development of a nation and the nation’s youth. For one, as in the case of Hetmyer and Rutherford, it brings recognition to locals and provides the opportunity to hone their skills.

Added to that, it provides an avenue for young people to even discover that they have these skills and talents in the first place and thereafter work on honing them. And then, this contributes to national development by letting young people be their true, productive selves. It keeps them engaged in meaningful activities. It’s a win-win-win situation.

Right now, we have guys like Hetmyer and Rutherford making waves from right on the home soil. We also have the likes of Keemo Paul shaping up and Devindra Bishoo who has been around. Chantoba Bright just began her journey abroad.

I think it’s time to invest more in developing sports and athletes right here. We might not get the elite institutions and stellar facilities right away, but it has to start before it can be developed. Right?