US cricket vice-captain Aaron Jones poses next to a giant cricket ball installed in a market to commemorate 100 days until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on February 22, 2024 in Miami, Florida.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
Major Cricket World Cup will be held on American soil for the first time in June, charting the future of cricket in the United States
Cricket, a game similar to baseball, originated in England and has long been popular there. But the sport is also booming in India, the world’s most populous country, and some other former British colonies.
The people who play cricket in the United States are mainly immigrants and their children. But in 2023, the sport gained momentum with the debut of Major League Cricket in the United States with six teams: Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom. .
Now, the United States Men’s National Cricket Team will represent their country at this year’s International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup. The teams play in the Twenty20 (T20) format, the shortest and most popular format in the sport. While traditional cricket matches can last up to five days, T20 matches usually last around three hours.
This year’s World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies and will be held at three American stadiums in Texas, Florida and New York, as well as several locations in the West Indies.
“This is a historic opportunity for the United States,” said former ESPN cricket writer Peter Dela Pena.
success in india
Although cricket has not yet caught on in the United States, it has enjoyed success in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and the West Indies, among others. But it has arguably made its biggest footprint in India, where it is the most popular sport in a country of more than 1.4 billion people, according to research firm Statista.
And viewer ratings continue to break records. disney The 2023 Professional Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament broadcast will reach a record 505 million viewers in India, with over 500 million viewers, according to Disney Star Network. This was the first tournament in which we gathered together.
According to Forbes, the average value of IPL teams is over $1 billion, and investors are taking notice. In June 2021, private equity firm Redbird acquired a 15% stake in IPL team Rajasthan Royals for $37.5 million.
A year later, the Board of Control for Cricket, the governing body for cricket in India, sold the television and digital broadcast rights for a record $6.2 billion. According to the IPL, it had the second-highest per-game value among sports leagues in the world after the NFL. Jay ShahBCCI Honorary Secretary.
The World Cup match-ups in early June will bring some of the star power to the United States, culminating in the high-profile matchup between India and Pakistan and the game between the United States and India.
”[The U.S.-India] “The game has already sold out all 34,000 seats at the New York venue,” Della Penna said. [the U.S. is] Considering the Indian market and other markets such as England and Australia, the World Cup will draw an unprecedented amount of television viewers for any game the United States has ever participated in. ”
According to USA Cricket, the ICC’s decision to host parts of the World Cup in the United States, especially the much-anticipated match between India and Pakistan, was a strategic move to capitalize on the country’s growth potential. The tournament will be held in the United States a few years before cricket takes part in his 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Dela Pena, who has covered cricket for nearly 20 years, also said the move was financially motivated.
”[The ICC] The reason they wanted to make sure the India-Pakistan match was held on U.S. soil was because they knew there were millions of people in India. [South Asian] They are a diaspora who are big fans of cricket,” Dela Penna said.
Cricketers Liam Plunkett (centre left) and Dwayne Bravo (centre right) pose with children at a media day to mark 100 days until the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by West Indies and the United States. Posing for a photo with the Times, February 22, 2024, in a square in New York City.
Mike Stove | Icc | Getty Images
Tasmayi Krishnan, an Indian teenage cricket enthusiast and host of the podcast Krystatic, said the sport was an “integral part” of Indian culture. With new sports such as pickleball gaining popularity, Tasmai said he expects cricket to grow in the United States as well, and is interested in seeing how the U.S. integrates into the global cricket circuit after the World Cup. .
“From India’s point of view, this opens up new territory for cricket here as it opens the door to another country that will be a fierce competitor in the future,” Tasmayi said. said. “This is a great learning opportunity for the U.S. team, and my heart is truly filled with joy to see a country like the United States participate.”
‘Dreams come true’
Dela Pena said the U.S.-India game will strike an interesting balance for Indian-Americans in choosing which country to root for.
One of them is George Samuel, who lives in Nassau County, New York, where some World Cup games will be held. Samuel is the Head Coach and Director of Queen’s United Cricket Academy, which develops cricket skills in children and teenagers. He immigrated to the United States from India in his 1987 year, but also coached cricket in England, Australia, and South Africa. When he arrived in New York, he wanted to inherit this sport.
He said he was “so excited” when he learned the World Cup would be held in his backyard. “When I came to this country, I never thought something like this would happen. It’s a dream come true.”
Samuel, who has already secured tickets, said he believes this World Cup will be the starting point for cricket to take off in the United States, but he will not be rooting for either team in the final.
“I like to watch good cricket. I have no loyalty. I want to see the United States have good talent, I want to see great bats and bowls and a lot of sixers,” he said. said. A “sixer” is the cricket equivalent of a home run in baseball.
Samuel’s teenage son, Jeremy, plays cricket professionally and wants to play for the American team, despite his family’s roots in India, so he supports his country of birth, the United States. He said he was there.
Jeremy also has tickets to the World Cup and none of his friends have ever been to a big cricket match.
“It’s 15 minutes from my house, so it’s really exciting to be able to watch it here,” he said. “It’s a big moment for us to finally be able to watch cricket. … It’s great because more people will get to know about cricket and start playing cricket.”
Some are interested in supporting the Indian team against its traditional rivals.
Mythili Sankaran, a California resident, said she has watched every match India has played in the past 25 years, but she hasn’t even watched the US vs. He said he was traveling to New York just for the sake of it. .
Sankaran, who played cricket in college, said: “Growing up in India with the Indian team, we were always the underdogs. Now India is one of the most promising and powerful teams in world cricket.” ” he said.Level in India before moving to US
“To be able to watch all these international stars, to be able to watch an India-Pakistan match in the United States, I never thought it would happen in my lifetime,” she said. “I think the cricket audience in the United States is maturing, largely because of Indian-Americans. It’s about time.”
Ultimately, Sankaran said he hopes the World Cup marks the beginning of a new era.
“What I hope is… that people will be able to watch women’s cricket in the United States,” she said. “The U.S. women’s cricket team is actually doing very well, so we hope to see more recognition and attention for that.”
