'I am truly bowled over' - USA's Deputy Secretary of State highlights cricket's emergence in country

Co-hosts United States of America (USA) did not undergo any qualifiers to appear at the T20 World Cup 2024. The fact that USA is the joint host for the marquee event, the national team made it to the roster automatically. But the team has not disappointed fans back home and have garnered some fanbase across the world with their quality outings. They made history by defeating Pakistan on June 5 and announced their arrival. 

USA are one of the few lands where cricket is still mushrooming as a sport. The country that takes pride in its Baseball and NBA, has slowly started picking the sport, thanks to their national team. Richard Verma, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, iterated that the response for cricket has been welcoming and is evident the World Cup has been received by the local audience. 

"In cricket terms, I am truly bowled over. It is really a tremendous honour and privilege for the United States to be hosting the men's T20 World Cup for the very first time. This is a great recognition that our country is starting to embrace cricket, a sport so beloved in so many other countries around the world,” said Verma as quoted by Crickit. 

"The 20 participating national teams highlight not only the skill of the world's best cricketers, but also the expansiveness of cricket's global reach. Having the US host the Cricket World Cup would have seemed unimaginable just 10 or 15 years ago. But today, Major League Cricket is flourishing in the United States,” he added.

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USA creating stars and fandom at the T20 World Cup

Talking about the USA team at the T20 World Cup, they are on their way to getting qualified for the Super 8 stages, given they win their next game against Ireland. The home team gave a tough fight to the mighty Indian team on June 12 but succumbed in the latter half of the game.

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Notably, Saurabh Netravalkar has been the star performer for the team as the pacer became an overnight star with his exceptional Super Over against Pakistan.