This NRG bats for cricket in the US! – Times of India

Vadodara: If America makes its mark in cricket at the Olympics in 2028, this Gujarati may well earn some applause for the feat. For, he is nurturing cricket in the US where baseball and (American) football are a religion. Ritesh Patel, a businessman settled in North Carolina, isn’t just promoting the sport but has also formed his own professional cricket team.“Cricket has always been close to my heart and I see a great potential in the US for this sport. I made it a mission to take cricket to every nook and corner of this country. I aim to see Americans excel in this sport and also prepare a team for the Olympics,” Patel, who is in the hospitality business, told TOI. A native of Anand district, Patel shifted to the US in 1997 with his family and within four years, he began playing cricket locally with the other non-resident Indians (NRI). That’s when he realised that the US has good resources and quality infrastructure to promote cricket as a popular sport. “I began working at the grassroots level to attract local youngsters to cricket and also began working on the infrastructural facilities,” said 47-year-old Patel.He launched his own cricket franchise ‘Samp’ (Unity) in 2015 and brought Indians as well as cricketers of other nationalities together to form different teams. The junior and senior cricket teams nurtured by Patel play not just across the US but also in various other countries.“The US has good cricket grounds of international level. Now, we are reaching out to young schoolkids and local communities to promote cricket. The locals have now started sending their children for cricket coaching,” he added.Patel said that with the US co-hosting the upcoming T20 World Cup, the sport will get a major boost there. “We are preparing cricketers to play the T-10 cricket effectively as this format of the game will be played in the Olympics where a maximum of 90-minute sport is allowed. T-10 is the future of cricket,” Patel said and hinted that he may also invest in an IPL team in the future. Patel is currently camping in Gujarat as his cricket team is playing in the Anand Premier League.

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