Cricket Fever Hits the U.S. Team Lands in NY

Cricket fever has hit the USA as it co-hosts the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with the West Indies, starting on June 1 with finals in Bridgetown, Barbados, on June 29.

Matches will be played across three cities in the USA—New York, Lauderhill in Florida, and Dallas in Texas—and six Caribbean islands. The semifinals will be held in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, with the final in Barbados.

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The first batch of Team India players, including captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, arrived in New York.

Key players such as Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav boarded their flight on Saturday. The squad also includes Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and traveling reserves Shubman Gill and Khaleel Ahmed.

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Most eyes are trained on a single cricket match, the highly anticipated India vs. Pakistan game on June 9 in New York. This is the first time the two teams will face off on American soil.

Tickets for this match at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium sold out almost immediately, with the waitlist oversubscribed by 200 times and over 3,000,000 applications.

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Standard category tickets were priced at Rs 14,500, Standard Plus at Rs 24,863, and Premium at Rs 33,148, with resale prices fetching up to $4000.

Despite high ticket prices, the demand remains insane, and additional tickets have been released for India’s other matches in New York and Florida.

India’s matches are scheduled to suit prime-time viewing in cricket-mad India.

The decision to award hosting rights to the USA highlights the growing popularity of cricket in the country, driven by Major League Cricket (MLC).

New York’s Nassau County Stadium is a new venue, marking its debut in international cricket.

For those unable to attend in person, fan parks at the Oculus World Trade Center, Epic Central in Texas, and Broward County Stadium in Florida will offer live match screenings and entertainment.