Cricket Stars Rising: Team USA’s Win Inspires Next Generation

Cricket history was about to be made as a software engineer on leave from his day job charged in with a leather ball in hand. Under the Texas sun, Saurabh Netravalkar’s left-arm pace bowling secured Team USA’s historic T20 World Cup victory against Pakistan. When the Indian expat arrived in America in 2015 for computer engineering studies at Cornell University, he forgot his cricket shoes. Team USA boasts characters like Netravalkar, whose LinkedIn account now reads “principal member of technical staff at Oracle, professional cricketer.” His teammate Nosthush Kenjige performed 800 hours of community service just to be eligible to play for the US. Now, they stand as local heroes, guiding Team USA to the top of their World Cup group.

For USA Cricket team manager Kerk Higgins, it signals the beginning of a promising journey in the World Cup. His goal is to advance out of the group stage and into the Super 8s. Moments after the historic game, Higgins told the BBC the monumental win was still sinking in, with high team energy. Most Americans were unaware of their team’s victory or even the existence of a cricket World Cup in their country. US player Aaron Jones told the BBC that this significant win would open the eyes of Americans not following the sport. This is the hope for the International Cricket Council (ICC) as it seeks to establish a foothold in the world’s largest sports market, where fans are more familiar with Super Bowls than super overs.

School teacher Ricky Kissoon sees the US win over Pakistan as inspiring the next generation to embrace cricket. He observes cricket’s gradual growth in New York, particularly among expat communities eager to reconnect with the sport. Unlike the 1994 football World Cup’s impact on soccer, gaining Americans’ interest in cricket poses significant challenges. Fans express frustration over limited mainstream broadcasting of cricket World Cup matches in the US and unfavorable match timings. The upcoming India-Pakistan match is highly anticipated, with tickets on the resale market reaching about $830 each. Ali Zar of Zar Sports sees these iconic World Cup matches in America as seeds for future cricket interest.

On his pop-up merchandise store, Zar notices increasing interest from Americans curious about cricket. Born in Pakistan, he witnesses a rising curiosity about cricket among American-born children, indicating potential for the sport’s future in the US.