One major subject Cricket World Cup is coming to U.S. soil for the primary time in June as the game sets about plotting its future within the United States
Cricket, a game much like baseball, originated in England and has long been popular there. But the game is booming in India, the world's most populous country, in addition to in several other former British colonies.
In the USA it is principally immigrants and their children who enjoy cricket. But in 2023, the game got a lift when Major League Cricket debuted within the US with six teams: the Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom.
And now the United States men's national cricket team will represent their home country at this 12 months's International Cricket Council Men's T20 World Cup. Teams play within the Twenty20 or T20 format, the shortest and hottest type of sport. While traditional cricket matches can last as long as five days, a T20 match often lasts around three hours.
This 12 months's World Cup is co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies and can happen at three U.S. stadiums – Texas, Florida and New York – in addition to several locations within the West Indies.
“This is a historic opportunity for the USA,” said former ESPN cricket author Peter Della Penna.
success in India
While it didn’t make a breakthrough within the United States, cricket has enjoyed success in countries reminiscent of Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies. But it has arguably made the largest impact in India, where it’s the most well-liked sport in a rustic of greater than 1.4 billion people, in keeping with research firm Statista.
Cricket is already big business within the Asian subcontinent. In 2022, they accounted for 85% of India's national sports expenditure. in keeping with ISPOwhich organizes trade fairs for the sports business.
And viewership continues to interrupt records. Disney said that the printed of the skilled Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament in 2023 would happen on Disney Star Network Record 505 million viewers in India, becoming the primary to draw greater than half a billion viewers.
The average value of an IPL team has exceeded $1 billion, in keeping with Forbes, and investors are taking note. In June 2021, private equity firm RedBird acquired a 15% stake in IPL team Rajasthan Royals for $37.5 million.
A 12 months later, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the country's governing body for the game, sold television and digital broadcast rights for a record $6.2 billion. This signifies that the IPL had the second highest value per game for a sports league on the earth after the NFL Jay ShahHonorary Secretary of BCCI.
The World Cup duels in early June will bring a few of that star power to the US, with high-profile competition between India and Pakistan culminating in a US-India match.
“[The U.S.-India] “The game is already sold out with 34,000 seats at the New York venue,” said Della Penna. “It just gives you a sense of the size of the opportunity.” [the U.S. is] “That will happen during the World Cup – with a television audience unprecedented for any game the US has ever been involved in before – considering the Indian market and other markets such as England or Australia.”
The ICC's decision to host part of the World Cup in the USA – and in particular the highly anticipated India-Pakistan match – was a strategic move to capitalize on the country's growth potential, according to USA Cricket. The USA will host the tournament a few years before the introduction of cricket 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Della Penna, who has been covering cricket for nearly two decades, also said the move was financially motivated.
“[The ICC] made sure to host the India-Pakistan game on US soil because they know a number of million people live there [South Asian] Diaspora who’re big cricket fans,” said Della Penna.
Tasmai Krishnan, a youth cricket enthusiast in India and host of the podcast “Cricstatic,” said the game is an “integral part” of Indian culture. As recent sports like pickleball develop into more popular, Tasmai said he hopes cricket will grow within the U.S. as well, and he's excited to see how the U.S. matches into the worldwide cricket scene after the World Cup.
“From an Indian perspective, this opens up another field for cricket here because it opens up another country that will be a tough competitor in the future,” Tasmai said. “This is a great learning opportunity for the U.S. team, and having a nation like the U.S. participate fills my heart with joy.”
“A dream come true”
The US-India game will provide an interesting balance for Indian Americans in deciding which country to cheer for, Della Penna said.
One of those people is George Samuel, a resident of Nassau County, New York, where among the World Cup games might be held. Samuel is head coach and director of the Queens United Cricket Academy, which develops cricket skills for youngsters and young people. Although he immigrated to the United States from India in 1987, he also coached cricket in England, Australia and South Africa. When he got here to New York, he wanted to provide up the game.
“I was super excited,” he said, when he came upon the World Cup could be in his backyard. “I never thought this would happen when I came to this country – it’s a dream come true.”
Samuel, who has already secured his tickets, said he believes this World Cup might be a launching pad for the rise of cricket within the US – but he shouldn’t be rooting for either team in the ultimate.
“I like watching good cricket. I have no loyalty. I want the USA to show good talent and I want to see that good bat and ball and a lot of sixes,” he said. A “sixer” is the cricket equivalent of a baseball home run.
Samuel's teenage son Jeremy said that despite his family's Indian roots, he’s rooting for the US, the country where he was born, because he desires to play cricket professionally and for the US team.
Jeremy also has his tickets to the World Cup, along along with his friends, none of whom have ever seen a serious cricket match before.
“It’s really exciting to be able to see it here – it’s 15 minutes from my house,” he said. “It's a big moment for us to finally see one. … It makes me happy because now more people know about cricket and are starting to play it.”
Others are more desirous about supporting the Indian team against their traditional rivals.
California resident Mythili Sankaran, who said she has watched every match India has played within the last 25 years, said she shouldn’t be even watching the USA-India match and is just traveling for the World Cup match between India and Pakistan to New York.
“Growing up in India with the Indian team, we were always the underdogs. Today, India is one of the most promising and strongest teams in world cricket, if not the most promising,” said Sankaran, who said she played cricket on the university level in India before immigrating to the US
“Seeing all these international stars, watching an India-Pakistan match in the US – I didn’t think I would be able to do this in my life,” she said. “I think the cricket audience in the US is maturing, largely thanks to Indian-Americans, and it’s about time.”
And ultimately, Sankaran said, she hopes the World Cup marks the start of a brand new era.
“I hope people can watch women’s cricket in the US too,” she said. “The US women’s cricket team is actually doing quite well, so I hope this brings a lot more attention and visibility.”
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