‘Come here to watch great cricket, but come here also to have a great experience’ - Director welcomes global fans for 2024 T20 World Cup

The upcoming T20 World Cup will be nothing short of an extravaganza. World Cricket is finally returning to the Caribbean islands while the United States of America will be hosting their first global tournament in history. In order to take cricket out of the commonwealth countries, the International Cricket Council (ICC) understands the USA to be a major market, from where they can not only popularize the sport in the West but also earn a lot of revenue. 

Tournament director Fawwaz Baksh understands the objective and is ready to welcome fans to West Indies and USA for the T20 World Cup, which is slated to begin on June 1. Notably, New York, Miami and Dallas will be hosting the matches in the USA, while six Caribbean countries will be hosting the major tournaments. Speaking about the recipe for hosting a successful tournament, Baksh mentioned that the fans should come to have a great experience, as West Indies will offer a party-like atmosphere in the stands.

“When you pair up West Indies and USA, it’s a recipe for success. We in the West Indies are known for a great time, we’re known for the party atmosphere. When fans come here and watch the games, they should expect that. So come here to watch great cricket, but come here also to have a great experience,” Baksh told Reuters.

To see this kind of response, it's very encouraging: Baksh

When it comes to ticket sales, the matches are receiving a lot of interest as people all across the globe have expressed their desire to watch the tournament. As per Baksh, 1.2 million applications from 126 countries were received within the first 48 hours, which includes 900,000 from the USA and West Indies. 

“Introducing cricket into the U.S., which is a new market to us, we weren’t quite sure what the response would be. We know there are quite a lot of expats in the United States and people from all across the world are interested in cricket. But to see this kind of response, it’s very encouraging,” Baksh said.