Cricket may finally be getting some attention in the US
The United States men’s cricket team delivered a shocking defeat to powerhouse Pakistan in a closely fought game that went into extra time in a T20 World Cup match in Texas on Thursday.
Group games for the tournament, which the United States is co-hosting with the West Indies, were played at a former minor league baseball stadium in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, one of three U.S. venues for the tournament.
Cricket fans around the world are calling the win one of the biggest upsets in sports history, with NPR’s “All Things Considered” co-host Juana Summers likening it to “the Boston Red Sox losing to the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team from North Carolina.”
The crowd was made up mostly of green-shirted Pakistani supporters who left the stadium disappointed with their country’s performance but impressed with the U.S. team, said Aziz Rajwani, 58, a Karachi immigrant who lives in Colleyville, Texas.
“They had so much respect. The crowd was cheering,” Rajwani told NBC News on Friday. “Yes, they were upset with their team, and so were the Pakistani fans, but at the same time, they were appreciating this American team. This is a new team, but they’re now the talk of the town, the talk of the world.”
This historic American victory Cricket is still considered a very niche sport in the United States, played mainly among immigrants from the Caribbean and South Asian countries, but does not enjoy the same acclaim here.
“Being the first player to play in the game after beating Pakistan, I’m really proud of the way we played today,” said USA captain Monankh Patel, who was named man of the match. “Obviously, beating Pakistan in the World Cup opens up a lot of possibilities for us.”
The win over Pakistan is all the more remarkable because the American players, who have day jobs and are on the team part-time, will be playing against a team that won the T20 World Cup in 2009, finished runner-up when the tournament began in 2007 and finished runner-up again in 2022.
Most of the U.S. players are of South Asian or Caribbean descent, and some have previously played for India or the West Indies.
Saurabh Netravalkar, an Oracle engineer and American bowler, is already a celebrity in India, having previously played for the Indian junior team.
“I’m very proud of the team and our engineering and cricket stars,” Oracle said. X said in his post.
The U.S. victory is good news for the International Cricket Council, which chose the country to co-host the tournament in hopes of boosting American interest in cricket. As a result, the U.S. team automatically qualified for the tournament, which will be the team’s first time participating in the event.
“This is the only way to grow cricket in America,” former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said in a post on X after Pakistan’s defeat.
Few Americans actually witnessed this historic moment in person: The game was not broadcast on U.S. television and the stadium only had capacity for around 7,000 people.
“America put in a great performance. They were better than us in every aspect of the game,” Pakistan captain Babar Azam said after the match.
The Pakistan team has struggled on many fronts recently, including a series of leadership changes, but they still rank sixth in the world, ahead of the United States at 18th. After Thursday’s loss, Pakistan faced the wrath of their fans on social media.
Shoaib Akhtar, a former Pakistan cricketer and known as the sport’s fastest bowler in history, said he was “hurt and disappointed” by X’s post.
“Unfortunately, Pakistan did not deserve to win,” he said in the video. “The U.S. always had the upper hand.”
The U.S. currently leads their group after beating Canada last weekend, but their winning streak could be on the line next week when they face India, the world’s number one ranked T20 team.
Pakistan remains in the tournament and will face India this weekend in New York, a highly-anticipated match between two of the world’s biggest cricket teams. Tickets for the match, which usually sells out within hours when played in both countries, were still on sale early Friday, with premium seats fetching up to $10,000.
Despite its relative obscurity in the U.S., cricket has a centuries-old history in the country, having been introduced to the colonies by the British, but it has declined with the growing popularity of soccer, basketball and a newer, simpler cousin, baseball.
Cricket is making a comeback in the United States, where there are six teams in the major league, one of which is co-owned by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The first season was held last year at Grand Prairie Stadium and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, and the second season will kick off on July 5, immediately following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup.
Rajwani, a fan who owns a gas station in Fort Worth, said he believes cricket will grow in the United States, especially as second-generation children of immigrant families go to college and share their love of the sport with their classmates.
“Once Americans see the passion for the game, it will definitely grow,” Rajwani said.
The fan, who vividly remembers a childhood spent scraping together rupees to get into the National Cricket Stadium and watching matches on uncomfortable concrete benches, said he believes the non-contact sport can appeal to American parents too.
“It’s a safe game, especially compared to other sports like football,” Rajwani said. “Cricket is a safe game.”
But new investment in cricket in the US That’s not to say there weren’t challenges.
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, where the India-Ireland match was held this week, has been criticised by the ICC for not being up to standard.
The ICC said on Friday that the team was working hard to “improve the situation and provide the best possible court surface for the remaining matches”.
