The date is February 7th, and many people have decided to skip the match because they think it will be a breeze. India lost its first wicket at just eight runs. A minor hiccup, surely. Then another fell at 45. Two more followed almost immediately. Suddenly, everyone starts taking notice, and social media goes into panic. Somehow, India managed to score 161 runs for nine. The lone bright spot is Suryakumar Yadav, whose fighting 84 prevents what could have been a humiliating defeat.
India wasn’t facing a strong cricketing force like Australia or South Africa, but the USA, a team that has never been taken seriously, had somehow come close to defeating a major cricketing giant like India. Even after victory, it wasn’t India that got people talking, but the USA. And this wasn’t a one-off anomaly. In 2024, the United States stunned Pakistan in a historic upset and also registered a victory over the Netherlands in the ongoing T20 tournament.
So how does a country where cricket barely registers in the mainstream produce a team capable of rattling the world’s best? The answer lies, in large part, in immigration. As Katherine Karr, an American citizen, puts it: “Cricket isn’t a mainstream sport in the U.S., which makes Team USA’s T20 success a bit surprising. Their success is a reminder of the importance of inclusivity in sports: when you make space for immigrant communities who love the game, you end up with a stronger team.”
America is a diverse nation, a fact many Americans hate, but it is. It’s perhaps the only place in the world where you can find a halal Jewish deli. Yet instead of celebrating such tolerance, immigrants have sadly been despised, and in Trump’s America, it is perhaps not even safe to be visibly non-white.
More than 6.1 million people in the United States trace their ancestry to South Asia. They have carried with them not only food, language, and tradition, but also a deep love for cricket. They have opened restaurants, strengthened tech companies, and built communities. Now, they are helping reshape the American sporting landscape.
It’s not the only instance where immigration has greatly benefited a nation in sports. The 1998 FIFA World Cup was won by France, a team which was nicknamed “Black, Blanc, Beur” (Black, White and Arab), for its diversity, and it is this diversity that helped them pick up the trophy. What made the triumph even more remarkable was the context. This was the same French side that had failed to qualify for the previous World Cups in 1994 and 1990.
Without immigration, Team USA would never have made it this far. Maybe in the future, they might even introduce the game to other communities in the country who, in turn, might pick up the game and further carry the bat to new heights.
