The T20 Cricket World Cup 2024 would be co-hosted by a traditional cricket hub, the West Indies and rank outsider in the world of cricket, United States of America [USA]. Interestingly, the USA and Canada are two giant nations with English heritage that make up the bulk of North America and like all other places with connections to England, the game of cricket has a history in these two nations as well. The latest Indian cricket news stories on the history of the game informs that the first ever international cricket match was played between the USA and Canada in 1844.

This is a little known but a very important piece of information from the pages of cricket history that modern day fans of the game in cricket crazy countries like England, India, Australia and others are not aware of, not to speak of sports fans in the USA and Canada.

Unlike all earlier efforts to popularize cricket in North America especially in the USA, the effort this time is expected to provide some momentum to the growth of the game in this country as per today cricket news in Hindi.

Times have changed and so has cricket

T20 cricket is the shortest, fastest and most exciting format of the game that gets over in three hours unlike the traditional format, Test cricket, which can last full five days or One Day International [ODI] that lasts the entire day.

Earlier, if the American excuse for not playing cricket was that it is too slow, unexciting and complicated, this time it is a “different ballgame” to use a popular American phrase.

Going by the latest Indian cricket news T20 cricket is as exciting as any baseball game although the complexities of the game will remain because the basic rules cannot change.

The argument against the complex rules of the game is not much of a barrier if the speed and excitement part of the game becomes compatible with young Americans.

A career in professional cricket can be rewarding

Earlier, whenever cricket was presented to the Americans, they pointed out the stereotype about the game being too slow, unexciting and complicated with not much to play for.

The kind of money an average professional player in baseball makes in a year was way higher back in those days but the roaring success of the Indian Premier League [IPL] has turned the fortune of cricket on its head and closed that gap significantly.

There is serious money in cricket now with the IPL becoming the biggest cricket league and the fourth biggest sports league in the world overall according to latest Indian cricket news.

In terms of value, Major League Baseball [MLB] is slightly higher than the IPL although that does not mean the recently launched Major League Cricket [MLC] in the USA would get anywhere close to that in the immediate future.

Setting aside such technicalities, one needs to look at the scope that professional cricket now offers to youngsters who are willing to play the game for a professional career. Cricket already has over 30 million followers in the USA and that number is set to grow in future as the stakes go up with more money flowing into the MLC and other tournaments. In this sense, the decision of USA Cricket, which regulates the game in this country, to co-host the world cup with the West Indies is surely going to benefit cricket in America and give it momentum to grow faster.

Referral Link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/west-indies-co-hosting-t20-world-cup-2024-usa-opens-up-vjubc/