{"id":47901,"date":"2025-11-13T12:27:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/47901\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T12:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:27:12","slug":"as-the-south-asian-population-grows-in-north-texas-cricket-finds-a-welcoming-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/47901\/","title":{"rendered":"As the South Asian population grows in North Texas, cricket finds a welcoming home"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is a chilly February morning in Dharwad, a small city nestled in southern India. On artificial turf at a local university, Arun Vittala steadies his focus and readies to bat. Blurry crowds cheer from afar. <\/p>\n

He is one of the last men standing on his cricket team and has a simple goal \u2013 to keep batting steadily, hitting one ball after another and keep running up the score. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you that they were cheering,\u201d Vittala recalls, \u201cbut did I pay attention to it? No, absolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vittala is halfway around the world and nearly a half century removed from that moment in 1977.<\/p>\n

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Today he is the one cheering a phenomenon he could not have predicted: His beloved sport is capturing the attention of North Texas.<\/p>\n

\"Cricket<\/p>\n

Cricket enthusiast, Arun Vittala, shows his cricket memorabilia, at his house on, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 in Plano.<\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

In recent years, interest and investment in the sport has grown so much that North Texas is now the hub for cricket in the United States.<\/p>\n

That growth is due, in large part, to the surge of new residents with South Asian heritage. That surge can be seen in the faces of new neighbors, and in streets awash with ethnic grocery stores and restaurants. And then, there are the cricket fields. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow you have everything, including a stadium. And I mean, it\u2019s just unbelievable,\u201d Vittala said, now 70 and Plano resident of over 30 years. \u201cI\u2019ve seen that transition. It\u2019s just so beautiful to see.\u201d <\/p>\n

Consider all this: Major League Cricket shifted its headquarters from California to Grand Prairie<\/a>, and the National Cricket League of the United States has its flagship location at the University of Texas at Dallas<\/a>. <\/p>\n

A stadium in Grand Prairie that was formerly home to the Texas AirHogs minor league baseball team is now a 7,200-seat professional cricket stadium. The stadium hosted the International Cricket Council Men\u2019s T20 World Cup in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Mukund<\/p>\n

Mukund Patel (left) of team Knight talks about the pitch with his teammate ahead of Masters Cricket USA, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium. The nonprofit organization provides a platform for seniors over the age of 40 to play competitive cricket. It started with four teams in 2021 now has over 5000 members belonging to four different age groups. <\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The facility has now become a go-to venue for several local, national and international cricket matches. The National Cricket League, another six-team league, joined MLC in making Dallas the epicenter of their operations last fall. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s not all.<\/p>\n

At a local level, several Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs now have cricket facilities, many of which are in Collin County. This includes Lords Indoor Sports in Plano, All Stars Cricket Arena in Frisco and Allen Cricket Ground. <\/p>\n

\u2018An immigrant\u2019s sport\u2019 <\/p>\n

Cricket dates back to the early 1600s in the rural boroughs near London, according to the International Cricket Council<\/a>. In the first half of the 18th century, it became a leading sport in England, and eventually made its way across the English empire, including Vittala\u2019s native India and to the British colonies in America\u2019s New England.<\/p>\n

American baseball owes part of its lineage to cricket, which has a vernacular both familiar and foreign to most Americans. Both sports use bats, score runs and are measured in innings. But a pitcher in baseball is a bowler in cricket, a batter is a batsman and a catcher is a wicket-keeper. There are no wickets in baseball.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Drenka, the co-founder of the Dallas Asian American Historical Society, acknowledged that the South Asian population in D-FW is a contributing factor to the growing popularity of cricket in the region. People of Indian descent account for the largest group of the Asian diaspora in the region.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that about 20,000 Asian Americans moved to Collin County in 2023, representing 45% of that demographic\u2019s numbers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Of course, not all those people have links to South Asia or share a love for cricket.<\/p>\n

Still, Drenka said, \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have been viable if the South Asian community hadn\u2019t been as large already in D-FW.\u201d <\/p>\n

She said the sport\u2019s local history is tied to the engineers who came to work here or go to school. They built a community and brought cricket from their home countries, namely India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n

Drenka calls it a \u201ccolonial sport.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Parak<\/p>\n

Parak Ananta (center) of team Titans leads a conversation during a huddle before a game during Masters Cricket USA, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium. The nonprofit organization provides a platform for seniors over the age of 40 to play competitive cricket. It started with four teams in 2021 now has over 5000 members belonging to four different age groups. <\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The National Cricket League said the sport has found a home in North Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis region represents the diversity and ambition that cricket embodies,\u201d NCL said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News.<\/p>\n

While the growth in cricket provides evidence of the influence of South Asians in North Texas, there are critics. <\/p>\n

Days before the May election, a Frisco councilwoman seeking reelection publicly apologized <\/a>after a secret recording surfaced of her making unflattering remarks about the city\u2019s growing Indian community. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not integrated with the rest of, probably, the neighborhood, unless the whole neighborhood is Indian,\u201d the councilwoman, Tammy Meinershagen, said. \u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re almost living in a different world.\u201d<\/p>\n

She lost her bid for reelection.<\/p>\n

For Vittala, what makes cricket an immigrant\u2019s sport is the nostalgia that is associated with it. Parents often want to live vicariously through their children, by putting them through cricket programs to fulfill the dreams they gave up. <\/p>\n

The first time Vittala played with the Dallas County Cricket Club, there was no cricket pitch, no wickets, just bare turf. So the team created its own pitch, mowing the field on which they would later lay artificial grass. <\/p>\n

\"Cricket<\/p>\n

Cricket enthusiast, Arun Vittala, shows his cricket memorabilia, at his house on, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 in Plano.<\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Gaining popularity but challenges remain<\/p>\n

While the popularity of the sport is rising, it faces challenges. <\/p>\n

In Plano\u2019s Russell Creek Park, there are seven outdoor cricket fields. It is the only park in North America with that many cricket fields in one place, according to Plano\u2019s tourist bureau<\/a>. At Lords, there are two indoor cricket fields and one batting lane primarily used by outdoor cricketers for practice.<\/p>\n

Those promoting the sport say more are needed.<\/p>\n

Four years ago, Lords Indoor Sports partnered with Frisco ISD to introduce cricket to 18 middle schools as part of the school\u2019s physical education program \u2013 but that effort lasted only a few months.<\/p>\n

The reason? There were not many coaches, said Sibu Mathew, who founded the 16,500-square-foot indoor sports facility. The facility has coached some 500 children between the ages of 5 and 14 since 2019, he said.<\/p>\n

Nine-year-old Evan Royce has been playing cricket at Lords for over a year but his interest was sparked earlier when he began learning about the sport from his father and grandfather.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I played cricket, I kind of just caught on,\u201d said Evan, whose family lives in Murphy. \u201cI played before, when I was a little kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father, Roshen Royce, said the family makes yearly visits to India and that is how his son got into cricket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played cricket outdoors,\u201d the elder Royce said. \u201cNaturally, that was something that he got involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n

While training is available, the introduction of cricket to local schools remains a challenge. <\/p>\n

The same stands true for college cricket. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, which oversees sports at colleges and universities in the United States, does not include cricket in its roster of sports.<\/p>\n

The Collegiate Cricket League is trying to change that. The league, which works in partnership with the National Cricket League, is in its second year and now boasts 30 teams. Among them are University of Texas campuses in Arlington, Austin and Dallas. Texas A&M also has a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t a structural platform at the moment for these college students to play cricket,\u201d co-founder Ashrav Paul said. \u201cOur vision is to create this platform where all these students can participate and show what they\u2019ve got.\u201d <\/p>\n

Comet Cricket Club at UTD won the National College Cricket Association championship in March. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter the country, the passion for the sport remains the same,\u201d said Firasuddin Syed, a graduate student at UTD and the captain of the team. \u201cAnd we carry the same passion onto the fields of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Cricket has always been a part of my life \u2019<\/p>\n

Amber Marfani, a mother of three, is the captain of the Dallas Dazzlers, one of the teams in the women\u2019s indoor cricket league at Lords Indoor Sports. She has been playing cricket since she was a little girl. <\/p>\n

Marfani, 39, has been playing indoor cricket at Lords for about a year, one of the first and oldest members of the league. <\/p>\n

Six teams, 75 women, one league, one passion \u2013 cricket.<\/p>\n

At a recent tournament featuring four of the teams, loud cheers from a modest group accompanied every hit as players raced for the wickets. Children came to cheer for their mothers; women hugged each other to celebrate every score. <\/p>\n

\u201cCricket has always been a part of my life,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t know it\u2019s going to change my life the way it did.\u201d <\/p>\n

Marfani, who calls Frisco her home, said playing cricket with the women who come from all over the D-FW metroplex has been a thrilling experience that has helped her discover herself all over again. <\/p>\n

In another part of the region, in the Grand Prairie cricket stadium, a group of senior cricketers over the age of 40 came together one evening to play trial matches and select players for their upcoming tournaments. <\/p>\n

What started with about four teams in 2021 now has over 5,000 members belonging to four different age groups, said Syed Shahanawaz, an executive member of Masters Cricket USA. <\/p>\n

\u201cAge is just a number,\u201d Shahanawaz said. \u201cWhy not create some momentum and get players to continue to play?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kamlesh<\/p>\n

Kamlesh Amin (center) leads a warm up ahead of a Masters Cricket USA game, on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025 at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium. <\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

\"Kamlesh<\/p>\n

Kamlesh Amin (left) corrects his teammate Shirish Kothari during a warm up ahead of a Masters Cricket USA game, on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025 at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium. <\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

A story that began on the other side of the world<\/p>\n

Until recently, Vittala had continued to play as part of his team with Masters Cricket USA, a collection of clubs whose members are over 40.<\/p>\n

Age and health issues have kept him from the cricket pitch, even if he remains cheering from the sidelines.<\/p>\n

Watching takes him back to his childhood, when he and other boys played what he called \u201cgully cricket,\u201d a street version of the sport much like how stickball was played in America\u2019s urban streets.<\/p>\n

\"Arun<\/p>\n

Arun Vittala, shows a photo of cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, when he came to Dallas to play a cricket match, shown on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 in Plano.<\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

\u201cGully cricket is the foundation where you learn several nuances of the game,\u201d said Vittala. \u201cTypically you have to play with a lot of restrictions \u2026 which makes you innovative.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he joined his university\u2019s cricket club nearly 50 years ago, little did he know that his love for the sport would lead him to the love of his life \u2013 his wife, who had cheered from the stands on that fateful February day in 1977.<\/p>\n

Vittala scored about 80 runs and helped his team win the match. He was named Most Valuable Player. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s an honor and a time long ago that he carries with him \u2013 from his birthplace to his adopted home in North Texas \u2013 as a local ambassador for the sport he loves.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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