The ICCT20 World Cup 2024 will be the first major cricket tournament to be held in the United States, but the centuries-old English game has been gaining popularity among South Asian and Caribbean immigrants in New York City's suburbs for years.
According to the Associated Press (AP), every year in the spring, fields from the Bronx and Queens to Long Island and New Jersey come alive on weekends with cricket matches.
Next month, New York's Nassau County Cricket Stadium will host a match between Pakistan and India in front of 34,000 spectators, but on a recent Saturday morning on the other side of Long Island's Eisenhower Park, several young cricketers were seen batting, bowling and fielding.
American cricket organizers hope that the T20 World Cup in June will boost the popularity of cricket in the country.
Long Island Youth Cricket Academy founder Parmanand Sarju says that 'when we started cricket a decade ago, nobody understood cricket, especially the youth.'
He added that now the stadium is being constructed here.
Ahmed Chauhan, president of the New York Police Department's cricket club and of Pakistani origin, says, "It took a long time for the game to catch on in the suburbs of New York, but now it is becoming increasingly popular among immigrant families." It is a historic moment for the World Cup to be here.
USA Cricket chairman Venu Paiske believes that the participation of the United States in the T20 World Cup will be a turning point.
"Cricket has been considered a sport for immigrants here, but in the next 10, 20 years, the situation will be completely different," says Venu Paiske.
He added that 'the thinking and effort of the Americans for the development of cricket will change completely.'
It should be noted that a total of 55 matches will be played in West Indies and America in the T20 World Cup, out of which 16 matches will be hosted by three American cities.
Out of the 16 matches to be played in America, 8 matches will be played at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York, including the match between Pakistan and India on June 9.
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