Tim Anderson, ICC’s head of global development, expressed the hope that a T20 World Cup tournament may take place in the U.S within the next decade, pointing to 2024 as a likely date.
He said efforts are already underway to build up popularity and gain support for the game in the U.S. For a country that is obsessed with baseball, basketball and American football, making inroads for cricket is not as daunting a task as you’d think. A breakthrough for cricket in the huge sports consumer market in America might be imminent.
The fact that thousands of Americans travelled to Australia to watch the 50-over ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has raised ICC’s hopes that the sport can gain currency in the States. International cricket’s governing body has already signed a lucrative deal with a U.S broadcasting company.
Large crowds in America witnessed the three-match T20 series, sanctioned by ICC, which was led by Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar. Americans got to see the cricketing finesse of legends like Brian Lara, Wasim Akram and Ricky Ponting.
There’s already an ICC-accredited cricketing venue in Florida, and another one coming up in Indianapolis. As part of its strategy, the ICC is also trying to introduce the game on college campuses to familiarize young people with it.
India will play host to the next T20 World Cup in 2016, and the 2020 tournament will be on Australian soil, but come 2024, the battle of cricketing nations may just go to America.