 "USA's Jessy Singh (L) celebrates the dismissal of Pakistan captain Babar Azam during their T20 World Cup match in Dallas, Texas. AP")
As the now famous engineer from Oracle Saurabh Netravalkar bowled the final ball of the Super Over in the match between the United States of America and Pakistan on Thursday in Dallas, cricket fans sat back and celebrated the gift of having a truly global World Cup.
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The first few days of this ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup have, ever so slightly, pulled the veil aside and shown a spotlight on the cricket world beyond the Full Members. Different teams, different flags, different nationalities – oh, how wonderful and heart-warming it has been. If you’re a cricket lover, you would have enjoyed witnessing such a wonderful plethora of different flavours.
A true ‘World’ Cup
Let us give credit to the International Cricket Council where due (and we will soon reach the part where they must also be roundly criticised). The decision of cricket’s governing body to expand the tournament to 20 teams is a fantastic one. Ensuring that the so-called “Associate” teams directly play some of the bigger names in the group stage is also so much better than the protracted format of the last few editions where most of the bigger teams automatically got a pass into the Super 12.
Because, let’s face it, as true lovers of the game, what could not be better than watching it grow? Just look at some of the stories we’ve already had in the first few days. The North American derby between the US and Canada , won by a rampant Aaron Jones . Plucky Papua New Guinea putting two-time champions West Indies to the sword . Oman and Namibia not giving each other an inch till the very last ball of their own Super Over. The sheer exuberance of Nepal’s fans, who never gave up on their team even when they were in the doldrums. Uganda’s spirited celebrations after their first win in T20 World Cup history. And of course, the United States of America refusing to get overawed and finally pulling out the rug underneath Pakistan at Dallas on Thursday.
Together, all these moments represent new frontiers, new markets with new fanbases to discover. Each offers an opportunity to spread the game we love so much and unearth new superstars. Wouldn’t that be so wonderful for the game?
Impact Shorts
View AllTaking the 2024 Men’s Twenty20 World Cup to the US is a good move by the ICC. It provides an opportunity for one of the world’s most popular sports to get a toe-in in one of the biggest markets for sport.
Taking the game to the masses
Unfortunately, the ICC could have done better. Having Yuvraj Singh on “Good Morning America” and doing a spiffy light show at the Rockefeller Centre Building in New York is fine – but the sport itself needs to be made accessible to the general population.
That hasn’t really worked out. Having games at odd local times to fit time zones elsewhere leading to empty seats at stadiums , selling tickets at hugely inflated prices , not having a proper broadcast partner for one of their showpiece events, regular complaints about the quality of some of the pitches used so far – you can seem to understand why the ICC is being accused of not really doing enough to promote the sport in an exciting new market and just looking to profit off the large expatriate population in the States who are starved of cricket.
It’s a tricky balancing act, of course, but if the game has to grow, it must conquer new markets. And for that to happen, the game has to be made more accessible. As all of us who watched the last few overs of the United States’ breathless chase against Pakistan and the two Super Overs agree, cricket can arouse emotions that few of us even knew existed. It’s about time we shared it with the entire world.