When the United States beat Pakistan in a World Cup cricket match in Texas last week, the upset stunned cricket watchers worldwide. Only a select audience has been aware of the growth of cricket in the U.S., and the excitement ignited a broader burst of interest that many cricketers hope will last.

“There’s this kind of growing embracing of what has been a global sport except for the United States’ participation,” says Jay Coakley, a professor emeritus at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, who studies global migration and sports.

U.S. Major League Cricket started last summer with six teams, powered by nearly $1 billion from prominent Indian Americans like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. 

Kapil Yanamandra, a software engineer and cricketer from Boston, is optimistic about the sport’s future. Last week coworkers who’d never shown an interest in cricket began following the games. He plans to tune in to Wednesday’s U.S.-India match.

“I was actually thinking I should get a USA jersey and stitch it up where the front is India and the back is USA,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s a sport, right? It’s people coming close [together].”

When the United States beat Pakistan in a World Cup cricket match in Texas last week, the upset stunned cricket watchers worldwide. Only a select audience has been aware of the growth of cricket in the U.S. in recent decades, and the excitement ignited a broader burst of interest that many cricketers hope will last.

Around the world, cricket has long been a tool both for diplomacy and an outlet for expressing fraught relations between countries like India and Pakistan. But the surprise win against Pakistan spotlighted the fast-rising popularity of the sport within the U.S., which traces back to cross-cultural stories of immigrants from countries that embrace cricket.

Adult and youth leagues exist all over the country, with hundreds of teams in some metro areas. Last week’s T20 World Cup match between the U.S. and Pakistan, and India’s subsequent win against Pakistan, drew max capacity crowds of 40,000 cumulatively, with attendees paying single ticket prices reaching into the thousands. This week, the much-anticipated match between the U.S. and India is expected to draw a sold-out crowd of 34,000 to a temporary stadium on Long Island, New York. 

Cricket’s fast-rising popularity in the U.S. is largely thanks to expats from South Asia and beyond, who are reveling in attention centered on the tournament, with some World Cup games hosted by the U.S. for the first time. The current enthusiasm is familiar to many Americans with roots in Southeast Asia, South Africa, Britain, or the Caribbean. But some hope it’s an indication of future growth. 

“There’s this kind of growing embracing of what has been a global sport except for the United States’ participation,” says Jay Coakley, a professor emeritus at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs who studies global migration and sports.

Fans are excited to see cricket as an Olympic sport for the first time since 1900 at the 2028 games in Los Angeles. The new U.S. Major League Cricket, started by investments from tech leaders like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, sold out its debut season games last year.

A community of U.S. cricket players 

For cricketers here, the sudden attention on their sport after the U.S. surprise win brings some welcome hope for additional interest and funding. But players are quick to point out that the sport has been played here for decades – and goes beyond athletics for many immigrant families who find community through the game.