United States men’s national cricket team star Ali Khan opened the week at the top of the Empire State Building, holding the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Trophy to kick off a worldwide trophy tour.

The tour’s next stop after New York City came Thursday at Space Center Houston as 11 national team players toured the facility and took photos.

“Everyone’s dream is to lift that trophy,” said team captain Monank Patel.

The tour, which is being held ahead of June’s 2024 World Cup, continues across the Western Hemisphere over the next few weeks. Its stops include Dallas, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Jamaica.

But Khan and his American teammates won’t be jet-setting across the world. They will spend a lot of time over the next two months in the Houston area preparing for the most significant sporting moments of their lives.

“Playing in a World Cup, it’s the biggest thing ever to happen to USA cricket, and there’s a lot of hard work and sacrifice that is involved in that,” said Khan.

The 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the first time the United States will host a World Cup cricket event. The U.S. is co-hosting with the West Indies.

But it is also the first time the U.S. will play in a World Cup. There have been 13 Men’s Cricket World Cups, which are contested under the One Day International format, since the first one in 1975. This is the ninth Men’s T20 World Cup, which is held every two years.

The women’s national cricket team hasn’t played in any of the Women’s Cricket World Cups, which were first held in 1973, or the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

“We’re still trying to absorb everything,” said Usman Rafiq, Houston-area resident and national team player. “We’re all really excited. We’re looking forward to it, and to see how we can make an impact in this World Cup as a team.”

Tickets to the tournament have been a hot commodity for fans. More than 3 million ticket applications were filled during the first week of February when the ICC opened a public ballot for people to receive first dibs on buying tickets.

Games in the United States will take place in Grand Prairie in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; Broward County, Fla.; and Nassau County, N.Y. The temporary stadium in Nassau County, being built exclusively for the World Cup, will hold 34,000 people.

While there are no World Cup games taking place in the Houston area, the United States will host Canada and Bangladesh at Prairie View Cricket Complex ahead of the international tournament for warm-up matches.

The U.S. will play Canada five times over a week in April before hosting Bangladesh in a three-game series in May.

The Americans are also currently holding a training camp at the facility. Patel said the first few days were spent practicing and now they are scrimmaging against each other. Khan said there are 30 players at training camp, with the team set to be cut down to 14 or 15 players ahead of the World Cup.

The U.S. will play four group stage matches at all three U.S. venues, including the World Cup opener against North American rival Canada in Grand Prairie. Their other opponents are World No. 1 India, fifth-ranked Pakistan and Ireland. The U.S. is 23rd in the ICC’s T20 world rankings.

“It’s gonna be a one-of-a-kind of tournament,” Khan said. “It’s gonna be amazing.”

SOURCE: Houston Chronicle