The stage is set for the T20 World Cup 2024 as the USA is all set to co-host the tournament alongside the West Indies. The mega ICC event is going to be extremely crucial to create massive awareness about the sport in the USA where basketball and baseball are enjoyed by a wider audience. Big players like Virat Kohli will also play a big role in promoting the game in the states as cricket will also be part of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
India batting maestro Kohli talked about playing in the USA and said he never thought that he would be playing in the States and hailed the country for accepting the change and being one of the first ones to do it.
“Honestly, I never thought we would be playing cricket in any form in the States. But now it’s a reality. And that tells you about the growing impact of the sport in the world and the United States is more than willing to accept the change and be probably the first ones on a global scale to accept it, in a way, with the World Cup,” Kohli said in a video message.
The former India captain, who will be playing in the T20 World Cup, said that having a T20 WC in the USA will be the start of a domino effect.
“I think it’s a great start. It’s the ideal way to begin and it’s going to have a huge impact, and in starting off a kind of a domino effect. I hope it carries on for a long period of time,” the 35-year-old added.
Talking further about the emergence of cricket in the USA, Kohli said that with the franchise league tournament MLC already happening there, cricket has a big potential to grow in the country.
“We have enough people from our regions to keep the game up and alive in the States and make the others more aware about what it feels like to play and watch cricket. And I think it’s got great potential, with the MLC as well. There is already franchise cricket happening there. So I think, it’s moving in the right direction,” he stated, while concluding his thoughts on cricket in America.
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