Cricket takes baby steps in football-crazy US
Washington: As all eyes remain fixated on the football World Cup, the game of cricket is also taking root in the US with the country's
Washington: As all eyes remain fixated on the football World Cup, the game of cricket is also taking root in the US with the country's first professional league currently underway in California and Texas.The Major League Cricket (MLC), currently in its fourth season, has attracted players mostly from cricket-playing nations including India and members of the diaspora of those countries.Cricket is also returning to the Olympic Games after a gap of 128 years when the sporting extravaganza will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, with the US getting an opportunity to field a team as the host nation."If cricket is in the Olympics, it will get a lot of eyeballs from the people in the US, particularly locals. They may also start accepting the sport. That will happen," Mumbai-born Harmeet Singh, who now plays for the MLC team Seattle Orcas, told PTI.A glance at the MLC player list shows up familiar names - Ravichandran Ashwin, Faf du Plessis, Keshav Maharaj, Sunil Narine, Marcus Stoinis, Kusal Perera, Rachin Ravindra, Haris Rauf, Unmukt Chand, and Jason Holder among others.Most cricketers in the US are either from countries where the game is already popular or from the diaspora of those nations."Right now, the kids of immigrants figure prominently in the game.
But once cricket grows in the US, it will attract more local talent. It has become an Olympic sport in 2028, and if it sustains, then schools and colleges may also start giving scholarships," said Harmeet, adding that the road ahead was challenging.Unmukt Chand, who led the India to U-19 World Cup victory in 2012, moved to the US in 2021 to pursue cricket."The game has grown in the last five years for sure since I have come here. Every year something new is happening. This year we got a dedicated cricket stadium in Los Angeles," said Unmukt, who plays for the LA Knightriders.Last week, LA Knightriders unveiled a stadium in Pomona, California, which is billed as a permanent home for cricket.The cricket venue, with eight wickets on the main square, ICC-standard playing dimensions, and six floodlight towers standing 120 feet tall, is set to host all the cricket fixtures of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.The MLC is also expected to expand next year from six to eight teams, signalling increasing interest in cricket in a country that loves baseball, basketball, and soccer."In India, everyone knows cricket, everyone understands the language.
But here it is very different. It is a very niche sport for a very niche audience," Unmukt said, adding that the game will grow when it is embraced by the locals.Harmeet said the biggest thing in any cricket-playing nation is infrastructure. "We have 3-4 stadiums now, but we need more and in more cities, more grounds. Not just stadiums, but more outdoor training facilities," he said.According to Harmeet, cricket will pick up in the US at the grassroots level only when schools and colleges start encouraging students to pick up the sport by giving scholarships."There has to be a clear pathway when a
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