T20 World Cup: Can cricket get traction in baseball-loving America?

Cricket, a popular activity in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, makes a significant comeback to North American shores with the T20 World Cup, but will it leave an effect on a local audience that knows little to nothing about the gentleman's game?

Cricket is dominated by India, but the International Cricket Council sees enormous potential in the American market, claiming that there are currently 30 million followers who follow the game in the vast country.

The T20 final is also viewed as a significant step toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, when cricket will make its debut after 128 years when the main event begins on June 1.

A total of 16 games will be played in three locations: New York, Dallas, and Lauderhill, with the majority of 55 matches planned in the Caribbean, including the knockout rounds.

South Africa and Sri Lanka will face off on Day 3 of the competition in New York, the site of the first international cricket match between the United States and Canada in 1844.

It was a period when the sport was popular throughout America before a much quicker alternative, baseball, rose to prominence during the Civil War in the 1860s.

"People look for entertainment, and that's what T20 offers." "That's what Americans want, you know, entertainment," said the renowned West Indian cricketer Brian Lara, who acknowledges that he could go about Miami without drawing attention to himself. Lara is one of the most recognizable players in the world.

Speaking with Americans, as I have frequently done, "You know, you play a game for five days and then you finish up in a draw? What is the purpose of that? Thus, marketing Test cricket to an American who might only be interested in the shortest format is challenging, he says.

It will take more than a few weeks of international cricket in a foreign country to spark a sustained interest in the sport among the local populace and to guarantee that it expands beyond the expat population in South Asia and the Caribbean.

When it comes to the terminology used to describe the various field placements in cricket, such as "fine leg", "deep mid-wicket", and "third man", the game can be difficult for a novice to grasp.

Whether it's bringing eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt on board as the World Cup ambassador or pushing the event at the most recent Formula 1 race in Miami, the ICC is going all out to engage the American public.

Cricket has to expand at the grassroots level in order to divert the attention of the typical American family from the leagues of baseball, the NFL, and the NBA.

"I'm positive that the game can expand in the United States. Those that are interested in learning more about a place tend to gravitate toward it when you are around, Bolt, a Caribbean cricket enthusiast, said PTI in a recent interview.

There is undoubtedly a single motivation for Americans to track the event. Their squad, which is primarily composed of players from Caribbean and South Asian ancestry, will be playing in its first World Cup.

The President of USA Cricket, Venu Pisike, believes that while the ICC tournament would raise much-needed recognition for the sport, participation in the 2028 Olympics will ultimately attract large numbers of people to it.

"So far, cricket is predominantly an expats' game, but with the marketing and promotion activities during the World Cup, there is some momentum and the World Cup will definitely boost the opportunities to expand the game in the USA," stated Pisike.

"The World Cup is undoubtedly raising awareness, and cricket's chance to compete in the Olympics will undoubtedly draw people to the area because the US is a major sports nation.

"Olympics is the prime area where all the sports bodies are focusing on since cricket is going to Olympics, that will actually give more opportunities to expand the sport between the World Cup and the Olympics," said Pisike.

The USA team selected for the competition compensates for a group of semi-professional players that work full-time jobs to support their families. The USA squad member Nisarg Patel, who was born in India, thinks that will need to alter if the sport is to attract more people in the United States.

"In the end, for a high school student in the United States to envisage a future in the game, something has to change. America is home to so many different sports; Olympic medals are the foundation of the nation.

"We need to show them that playing cricket can lead to a career if cricket is to succeed," stated the spinner, who is employed full-time by a medical research organization in Los Angeles.

A significant move in that direction was the establishment of Major League Cricket, the nation's first professional league for the sport, last year.

However, the ICC and other stakeholders would have an enormous struggle in trying to catch the public's attention in a nation where the athletic environment is already crowded and established.