No major boost to cricket in USA by hosting ICC T20 World Cup 2024

By Naeem-ul-Haq in USA 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

There was lots of buzz and excitement in anticipation of something phenomenal taking place on the eve of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which was being co-hosted by the United States of America (USA) during the month of June. 

It was going to be for the first time ever when so many top playing nations of the world were to disembark together to showcase their skills in this part of the planet. But what transpired was anti-climatic to say the least. Neither the participating teams were satisfied with the makeshift arrangements nor the spectators got their money’s worth while watching the megastars of the game. 

The event hardly provided the kind of entertainment which was being looked forward to by the cricket enthusiasts. Yes, the USA cricket team performed better than expected in the field and their super-over triumph against Pakistan was nothing short of a miracle. 

Nobody had expected them to come this much close to the 1992 world champions but they played better cricket on the day to cause one of the greatest upsets in sporting history. From the American point of view, it was gladdening to find the hosts, led by Monank Patel, qualify for the second round, exceeding all expectations. 

Even the local cricketers themselves were surprised at the outcome as they had never imagined in their wildest dreams going this far. 

There was no element of surprise, however, in watching them run of steam in the Group 2 of Super Eight rounds where they were overwhelmed by all the three fancied rivals, South Africa, England and the West Indies. They just didn’t demonstrate the pedigree or the depth within their squad when exposed to the giants of the game in the Caribbean. 

There were plenty of shocks for everyone in the organizational aspects of the tournament in USA. The pitches in New York came under fire which denied the pleasure of watching high quality cricket. With the ball seaming and moving alarmingly all the time, the T20 games seemed to be played like Tests which obviously was not a good advertisement for cricket. We needed high-scoring thrillers and action-packed moments rather than the cricketers in the middle fighting for survival of their wickets. 

Wasn’t it a shame that even the much-hyped Indo-Pak encounter was also affected by the pitch which didn’t allow batters to play with any kind of freedom? Even the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan were undone by the double bounce.

It was far from an ideal pitch for such a high-profile and significant T20 game. Scheduling matches in Florida in the middle of rainy season was not a wise move either. It resulted in abandoned matches and prevented the world-class cricketers from taking the field more than once, which indeed was terribly disappointed. 

The organizers, despite being blessed with resources of all kinds, were found wanting in making the necessary arrangements and the opportunity of staging such a big event seemed to have been wasted. Not many people will disagree with me over the point that cricket in USA hardly got any boost by playing host to ICC T20 World Cup 2024. 

The Indian squad was the strongest on paper and they proved the point by annexing the title with unmatched resilience. They could have still emerged triumphant if not facilitated in the best possible manner. 

With prime time of India being the target, they got the luxury of playing all their matches, including the knockouts, in daylight. Unlike other teams, they were lodged in hotels which were closest to the ground, saving them from the inconvenience of commuting for long hours. They played brilliant cricket no doubt but these little factors certainly helped their cause.