{"id":613857,"date":"2026-04-17T23:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613857\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T23:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:00:18","slug":"arizonas-cricket-infrastructure-is-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613857\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona\u2019s cricket infrastructure is on the rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Pratham Valluri, Cronkite News
April 17, 2026<\/p>\n

PHOENIX \u2013 On a family trip to India, 5-year-old Sanjay Krishnamurthi was introduced to his future \u2013\u00a0a size zero cricket bat his dad bought for him. When he returned to his hometown of Chandler, a friend came over and asked a seemingly innocuous question.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite sport?\u201d<\/p>\n

Krishnamurthi had never played cricket before, but that day marked the first time he picked up a bat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNear Desert Breeze Park in Chandler is where we started playing, just my dad and I,\u201d Krishnamurthi said. \u201cWe continued for the next couple of years from 5 to 7, just tennis ball cricket with my dad at a local park or another grassy area near our house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than two decades later, Krishnamurthi is a rising star on the USA cricket team, making his national debut in 2021. The Chandler native burst onto the international scene with an unbeaten knock of 68 against Namibia during the 2026 T20 World Cup in February that earned the 22-year-old his first Player of the Match recognition.<\/p>\n

Cricket is widely regarded as the second-most popular sport worldwide based on viewership, with an estimated international fanbase of around 2.5 billion, but its status in the West over the past 150 years precedes its global standing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the sport\u2019s rich history in the Americas, its popularity waned in favor of baseball during the 1800s, but Krishnamurthi is just one example of cricket\u2019s resurgence in the United States across the last half-decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cricket\u2019s history in the USA
\n\"\"The ASU Cricket Club poses after a match in November of 2023. The club is primarily made up of international students. (Photo courtesy of Yashashwi Gautom)<\/p>\n

Cricket is a bat-and-ball sport distantly related to baseball, although the origins of cricket predate that of baseball by around 300 years and perhaps even longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Writings of a game called \u201ccreag\u201d played by Prince Edward (England) trace back to 1301, but no direct evidence shows that it was related to cricket. The first mention of the sport arises from a 1598 court case over a land dispute, where John Derrick stated he played \u201ccreckett\u201d around a half-century earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through the 17th century, the sport continued to grow, particularly in England but also globally as the British Empire expanded its conquests. Although considered an upper-class game, the sport started to pick up steam in the Americas as early as 1709, with comments from Virginia\u2019s William Byrd about playing cricket with his friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Benjamin Franklin reportedly returned from England with a copy of the \u201c1744 Laws\u201d, then cricket\u2019s official rule book, and anecdotal evidence of George Washington playing a similar game called \u201cwicket\u201d at Valley Forge exists from soldier\u2019s recollections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a long history, especially in the mid-1700s through about the early 1800s of cricket being popular, especially in New York and Philadelphia,\u201d said Glen Duerr, professor of international studies at Cedarville University (Ohio). \u201cA lot of the people were very pro-British. That changed, particularly in the 1770s \u2026 but cricket remained popular even even after independence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obscure to many, the first recorded international cricket match occurred in New York between the U.S. and the British territory that eventually became Canada in 1844, over 30 years before the first official test match between England and Australia, and around the same time that organized baseball was developing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although cricket persisted through the 1800s, a number of factors swayed the USA toward baseball. Duerr, who grew up in Kent and teaches about cricket as a part of his course on the history of the British Isles and Canada, referred to both social, logistical and nationalistic issues as reasons for cricket\u2019s eventual decline in the USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCricket\u2019s played in a lot of country clubs by the rich in New York and Philadelphia, it’s viewed as very British, and so people turn away from it,\u201d Duerr said. \u201cThe Civil War expands the popularity of baseball, and then baseball becomes professional. With the growth of the National League, and later the American League and the World Series, cricket\u2019s displaced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cricket matches lasted far longer than baseball games, with constant field changes and pauses for lunch, time that the average American couldn\u2019t afford to spend on a leisure activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Baseball\u2019s structure through the MLB helped it take over as America\u2019s pastime and cricket morphed into a sport primarily played in the Eastern Hemisphere, gaining huge popularity in other countries occupied by the British including India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1961, the United States of America Cricket Association was founded, and became an associate member of the International Cricket Council in 1965. After years of turbulence between the board and the governing ICC body, USACA was expelled as a member in 2017, and replaced by USA Cricket the next year, although its replacement was suspended in 2025 for its \u201cfailure to implement a functional governance structure,\u201d according to an ICC press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rules and formats<\/p>\n

The primary objective of cricket is to score more runs than the other side. Cricket teams consist of 11 players per side, with one team batting and the other bowling in turns called innings.<\/p>\n

Runs are scored by running between the wickets on a pitch or through hitting boundaries, worth either four or six runs. The bowling team attempts to dismiss the opposition in a variety of ways, including catching a ball the batsman hit or breaking the wickets behind him (bowled).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike most other sports, cricket also operates in three formats, each with distinctive lengths and playstyles: Test, One-Day Internationals (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Test cricket, the most traditional format, began in 1877 and can run up to five days. ODI cricket, consisting of 50 overs with each over comprising six deliveries, began in 1971 and features a World Cup every four years in a tournament similar to soccer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even in a shorter format, ODI cricket necessitated around eight hours of time for both the athletes and spectators. To combat dwindling attendance and engage younger audiences, a third format called T20s was introduced in 2005.\u00a0<\/p>\n

T20 cricket only involved 20 overs and operated in a timeframe comparable to the NFL and NBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2007, the first ICC T20 World Cup was created and the Indian Premier League originated a year later, following the franchise model of western leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s allowed us to commercialize,\u201d USA Cricket broadcaster Aaman Patel said. \u201cI think that it’s a hard sell for any person, no matter what the new sport is, to say, \u2018This lasts over a period of a couple days\u2019 right? \u2026 It\u2019s not unaccustomed for the Western audience to watch multiple days but T20 allows them to get their foot in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continued growth in the US<\/p>\n

Increased interest stemmed from the United States\u2019 shocking upset over Pakistan in a thrilling Super Over during the 2024 T20 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S. and West Indies, the first time the U.S. was partaking in the tournament\u2019s 17-year existence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the New York Times was dominated by the USA beating Pakistan for a whole week,\u201d Patel said. \u201cYou go on to Instagram, and you\u2019re scrolling through, and you see \u2018USA just completed the greatest upset story ever.\u2019 You see more eyes with these major tournaments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cricket is also making its highly anticipated comeback in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, following its first and only appearance in 1900 at the Paris Games. Although just six teams will qualify for the event, and the U.S. currently ranks 15th in the T20 International standings, its status as the host country will allow it to gain entry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trying to emulate the IPL\u2019s financial and entertainment success, Major League Cricket originated in 2023 as the USA\u2019s first professional T20 league. The organization has six teams, one of them the San Francisco Unicorns that Krishnamurthi plays for, but is set to expand to eight by 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cricket in Arizona
\n\"\"Cricket Phoenix operates a women\u2019s league as part of its five yearly tournaments. (Photo courtesy of Santohsh Bugatha)<\/p>\n

In 2024, following the T20 World Cup, more than 400 cricket leagues were operating around the country, according to USA Cricket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arizona\u2019s cricket history dates back to 1989 with the formation of its first league: the Arizona Cricket Association. Other leagues have subsequently followed, with popularity on the rise in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One such club is Cricket Phoenix, a nonprofit officially founded and run by Santohsh Bugatha in 2019. An immigrant from India, Bugatha moved to Phoenix in 2008 and started playing within the ACA before branching out to create a separate organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning with four teams in its early stages, Cricket Phoenix has now ballooned to sixty teams across six tiers delegated on competitiveness, timeliness, a code of conduct and other variables.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the number of teams surging, finding dedicated grounds to play was another obstacle. Bugatha submitted grants and funding to the city of Phoenix to create cricket-specific facilities, resulting in five 360-degree Astroturf grounds being built in locations such as Turtle Rock Basin near 12th Street and Bell Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBesides California and Texas, no one has seven turf grounds for cricket,\u201d Bugatha said. \u201cThe city is supporting. \u2026 We have live streaming going on for the (Phoenix Premier League) that shares the competitiveness so interest has grown at least 300-400 times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club holds five 20-over tennis ball tournaments throughout the year: summer, winter, a competitive PPL, a Master\u2019s League for enthusiasts over 40 and a women\u2019s league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to promoting women\u2019s cricket, Cricket Phoenix has hosted several collaborations in local communities to grow the sport with children and adults. The club showcased the sport in a Gilbert Parks and Recreation outreach event in 2022, supports local youth coaching groups and is working with the city of Phoenix to provide free coaching at the Mountain View Community Center in Scottsdale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cricket Phoenix also partnered with the Chandler Unified School District, Washington Elementary School District and Deer Valley Unified School District to conduct free \u201csummer outreach programs\u201d for nearly 200 kids, according to Bugatha.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMaintaining that interest and support from the community is not there,\u201d Bugatha said. \u201cThat has to change, and I see that change from parents, but we need to see the change from teams and clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The college scene has picked up in tandem with the local progress. ASU harbors a cricket club that functions under the National Collegiate Cricket Association and was named national champions in 2022 and Pacific Regional champions the following three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even with the sport\u2019s recent ascension, the club is primarily made up of international students. Yashashwi Gautom, a senior studying computer science, was raised in Arizona and is one of just two players on the team that has lived in the U.S. for a majority of their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gautom joined the club as a sophomore before taking over as captain this past season, where he\u2019s looked to attract more people to the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In preparation for the competitive tournaments throughout the year, Gautom expressed hope that more students who\u2019ve had experience with cricket would try out for the team but recognized the importance of amplifying opportunities for those unaware of the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNext year, our plan is to make a league where it’s more recreational and not as competitive, just so we can have more people playing the sport and enjoying it,\u201d Gautom said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the sport\u2019s appeal has expanded, so has the infrastructure, although it is still catching up to California and Texas. The club practices on a cricket ground in Tempe but also accesses seven indoor nets at a facility in Chandler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Broadening cricket\u2019s horizons to a larger audience disconnected from the sport continues to be the biggest goal for clubs in Arizona. Beyond the entertainment value, the financial upside of increasing American fans, mirroring what the IPL has done in India, is nearly unmatched.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While national leagues like the MLC and local leagues like Cricket Phoenix pursue those ambitions, the youth ultimately hold the keys to cricket\u2019s future in the USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a young Krishnamurthi, India\u2019s 2011 ODI World Cup victory was the catalyst for his cricket journey. Watching them lift that trophy felt \u201cas cool and far away in (his) head as the Jedis from Star Wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for a child interested in the sport in 2026, watching the U.S. take down a former World Cup-winning nation in Pakistan, a new reality for American cricket exists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a moment that a lot of young kids would have seen and thought I want to play for America, whereas when I saw (India\u2019s win), I was like, \u2018OK, I want to play for India,\u2019\u201d Krishnamurthi said. \u201c(It\u2019s) definitely a big step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2026\/04\/17\/arizona-cricket-resurgence\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org”>Cronkite News<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/favicon1.png?resize=85%2C85&amp;ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCricket\u2019s popularity in the US reflected at ASU, Arizona clubs and local youth development<\/p>\n

Pratham Valluri, Cronkite News
\nApril 17, 2026<\/p>\n

PHOENIX \u2013 On a family trip to India, 5-year-old Sanjay Krishnamurthi was introduced to his future \u2013\u00a0a size zero cricket bat his dad bought for him. When he returned to his hometown of Chandler, a friend came over and asked a seemingly innocuous question.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite sport?\u201d<\/p>\n

Krishnamurthi had never played cricket before, but that day marked the first time he picked up a bat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNear Desert Breeze Park in Chandler is where we started playing, just my dad and I,\u201d Krishnamurthi said. \u201cWe continued for the next couple of years from 5 to 7, just tennis ball cricket with my dad at a local park or another grassy area near our house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than two decades later, Krishnamurthi is a rising star on the USA cricket team, making his national debut in 2021. The Chandler native burst onto the international scene with an unbeaten knock of 68 against Namibia during the 2026 T20 World Cup in February that earned the 22-year-old his first Player of the Match recognition.<\/p>\n

Cricket is widely regarded as the second-most popular sport worldwide based on viewership, with an estimated international fanbase of around 2.5 billion, but its status in the West over the past 150 years precedes its global standing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the sport\u2019s rich history in the Americas, its popularity waned in favor of baseball during the 1800s, but Krishnamurthi is just one example of cricket\u2019s resurgence in the United States across the last half-decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cricket\u2019s history in the USA<\/p>\n

Cricket is a bat-and-ball sport distantly related to baseball, although the origins of cricket predate that of baseball by around 300 years and perhaps even longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Writings of a game called \u201ccreag\u201d played by Prince Edward (England) trace back to 1301, but no direct evidence shows that it was related to cricket. The first mention of the sport arises from a 1598 court case over a land dispute, where John Derrick stated he played \u201ccreckett\u201d around a half-century earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through the 17th century, the sport continued to grow, particularly in England but also globally as the British Empire expanded its conquests. Although considered an upper-class game, the sport started to pick up steam in the Americas as early as 1709, with comments from Virginia\u2019s William Byrd about playing cricket with his friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Benjamin Franklin reportedly returned from England with a copy of the \u201c1744 Laws\u201d, then cricket\u2019s official rule book, and anecdotal evidence of George Washington playing a similar game called \u201cwicket\u201d at Valley Forge exists from soldier\u2019s recollections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a long history, especially in the mid-1700s through about the early 1800s of cricket being popular, especially in New York and Philadelphia,\u201d said Glen Duerr, professor of international studies at Cedarville University (Ohio). \u201cA lot of the people were very pro-British. That changed, particularly in the 1770s \u2026 but cricket remained popular even even after independence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obscure to many, the first recorded international cricket match occurred in New York between the U.S. and the British territory that eventually became Canada in 1844, over 30 years before the first official test match between England and Australia, and around the same time that organized baseball was developing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although cricket persisted through the 1800s, a number of factors swayed the USA toward baseball. Duerr, who grew up in Kent and teaches about cricket as a part of his course on the history of the British Isles and Canada, referred to both social, logistical and nationalistic issues as reasons for cricket\u2019s eventual decline in the USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCricket\u2019s played in a lot of country clubs by the rich in New York and Philadelphia, it’s viewed as very British, and so people turn away from it,\u201d Duerr said. \u201cThe Civil War expands the popularity of baseball, and then baseball becomes professional. With the growth of the National League, and later the American League and the World Series, cricket\u2019s displaced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cricket matches lasted far longer than baseball games, with constant field changes and pauses for lunch, time that the average American couldn\u2019t afford to spend on a leisure activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Baseball\u2019s structure through the MLB helped it take over as America\u2019s pastime and cricket morphed into a sport primarily played in the Eastern Hemisphere, gaining huge popularity in other countries occupied by the British including India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1961, the United States of America Cricket Association was founded, and became an associate member of the International Cricket Council in 1965. After years of turbulence between the board and the governing ICC body, USACA was expelled as a member in 2017, and replaced by USA Cricket the next year, although its replacement was suspended in 2025 for its \u201cfailure to implement a functional governance structure,\u201d according to an ICC press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rules and formats<\/p>\n

The primary objective of cricket is to score more runs than the other side. Cricket teams consist of 11 players per side, with one team batting and the other bowling in turns called innings.<\/p>\n

Runs are scored by running between the wickets on a pitch or through hitting boundaries, worth either four or six runs. The bowling team attempts to dismiss the opposition in a variety of ways, including catching a ball the batsman hit or breaking the wickets behind him (bowled).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike most other sports, cricket also operates in three formats, each with distinctive lengths and playstyles: Test, One-Day Internationals (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Test cricket, the most traditional format, began in 1877 and can run up to five days. ODI cricket, consisting of 50 overs with each over comprising six deliveries, began in 1971 and features a World Cup every four years in a tournament similar to soccer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even in a shorter format, ODI cricket necessitated around eight hours of time for both the athletes and spectators. To combat dwindling attendance and engage younger audiences, a third format called T20s was introduced in 2005.\u00a0<\/p>\n

T20 cricket only involved 20 overs and operated in a timeframe comparable to the NFL and NBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2007, the first ICC T20 World Cup was created and the Indian Premier League originated a year later, following the franchise model of western leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s allowed us to commercialize,\u201d USA Cricket broadcaster Aaman Patel said. \u201cI think that it’s a hard sell for any person, no matter what the new sport is, to say, \u2018This lasts over a period of a couple days\u2019 right? \u2026 It\u2019s not unaccustomed for the Western audience to watch multiple days but T20 allows them to get their foot in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continued growth in the US<\/p>\n

Increased interest stemmed from the United States\u2019 shocking upset over Pakistan in a thrilling Super Over during the 2024 T20 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S. and West Indies, the first time the U.S. was partaking in the tournament\u2019s 17-year existence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the New York Times was dominated by the USA beating Pakistan for a whole week,\u201d Patel said. \u201cYou go on to Instagram, and you\u2019re scrolling through, and you see \u2018USA just completed the greatest upset story ever.\u2019 You see more eyes with these major tournaments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cricket is also making its highly anticipated comeback in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, following its first and only appearance in 1900 at the Paris Games. Although just six teams will qualify for the event, and the U.S. currently ranks 15th in the T20 International standings, its status as the host country will allow it to gain entry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trying to emulate the IPL\u2019s financial and entertainment success, Major League Cricket originated in 2023 as the USA\u2019s first professional T20 league. The organization has six teams, one of them the San Francisco Unicorns that Krishnamurthi plays for, but is set to expand to eight by 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cricket in Arizona<\/p>\n

In 2024, following the T20 World Cup, more than 400 cricket leagues were operating around the country, according to USA Cricket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arizona\u2019s cricket history dates back to 1989 with the formation of its first league: the Arizona Cricket Association. Other leagues have subsequently followed, with popularity on the rise in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One such club is Cricket Phoenix, a nonprofit officially founded and run by Santohsh Bugatha in 2019. An immigrant from India, Bugatha moved to Phoenix in 2008 and started playing within the ACA before branching out to create a separate organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning with four teams in its early stages, Cricket Phoenix has now ballooned to sixty teams across six tiers delegated on competitiveness, timeliness, a code of conduct and other variables.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the number of teams surging, finding dedicated grounds to play was another obstacle. Bugatha submitted grants and funding to the city of Phoenix to create cricket-specific facilities, resulting in five 360-degree Astroturf grounds being built in locations such as Turtle Rock Basin near 12th Street and Bell Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBesides California and Texas, no one has seven turf grounds for cricket,\u201d Bugatha said. \u201cThe city is supporting. \u2026 We have live streaming going on for the (Phoenix Premier League) that shares the competitiveness so interest has grown at least 300-400 times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club holds five 20-over tennis ball tournaments throughout the year: summer, winter, a competitive PPL, a Master\u2019s League for enthusiasts over 40 and a women\u2019s league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to promoting women\u2019s cricket, Cricket Phoenix has hosted several collaborations in local communities to grow the sport with children and adults. The club showcased the sport in a Gilbert Parks and Recreation outreach event in 2022, supports local youth coaching groups and is working with the city of Phoenix to provide free coaching at the Mountain View Community Center in Scottsdale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cricket Phoenix also partnered with the Chandler Unified School District, Washington Elementary School District and Deer Valley Unified School District to conduct free \u201csummer outreach programs\u201d for nearly 200 kids, according to Bugatha.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMaintaining that interest and support from the community is not there,\u201d Bugatha said. \u201cThat has to change, and I see that change from parents, but we need to see the change from teams and clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The college scene has picked up in tandem with the local progress. ASU harbors a cricket club that functions under the National Collegiate Cricket Association and was named national champions in 2022 and Pacific Regional champions the following three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even with the sport\u2019s recent ascension, the club is primarily made up of international students. Yashashwi Gautom, a senior studying computer science, was raised in Arizona and is one of just two players on the team that has lived in the U.S. for a majority of their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gautom joined the club as a sophomore before taking over as captain this past season, where he\u2019s looked to attract more people to the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In preparation for the competitive tournaments throughout the year, Gautom expressed hope that more students who\u2019ve had experience with cricket would try out for the team but recognized the importance of amplifying opportunities for those unaware of the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNext year, our plan is to make a league where it’s more recreational and not as competitive, just so we can have more people playing the sport and enjoying it,\u201d Gautom said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the sport\u2019s appeal has expanded, so has the infrastructure, although it is still catching up to California and Texas. The club practices on a cricket ground in Tempe but also accesses seven indoor nets at a facility in Chandler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Broadening cricket\u2019s horizons to a larger audience disconnected from the sport continues to be the biggest goal for clubs in Arizona. Beyond the entertainment value, the financial upside of increasing American fans, mirroring what the IPL has done in India, is nearly unmatched.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While national leagues like the MLC and local leagues like Cricket Phoenix pursue those ambitions, the youth ultimately hold the keys to cricket\u2019s future in the USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a young Krishnamurthi, India\u2019s 2011 ODI World Cup victory was the catalyst for his cricket journey. Watching them lift that trophy felt \u201cas cool and far away in (his) head as the Jedis from Star Wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for a child interested in the sport in 2026, watching the U.S. take down a former World Cup-winning nation in Pakistan, a new reality for American cricket exists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a moment that a lot of young kids would have seen and thought I want to play for America, whereas when I saw (India\u2019s win), I was like, \u2018OK, I want to play for India,\u2019\u201d Krishnamurthi said. \u201c(It\u2019s) definitely a big step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.<\/p>\n

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