Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh explained how cricket is different from baseball on an American TV show ‘Good Morning America’ ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Yuvraj Singh explained the basic difference between cricket and baseball on an American TV show. (Photo: YouTube video grab)

New Delhi: Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh said he never imagined that cricket would reach the American shores one day and is excited to see how the fans in the USA react to the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. USA is all set to co-host the showpiece event alongside the West Indies as ICC continues its bid to popularise the sport globally. The ninth edition of the World Cup is set to feature 20 teams for the first time in the tournament’s history.

Hosts USA have made it to the tournament by virtue of being the hosts and it remains to be seen the kind of response the game would receive from the fans in the country. ICC will be hoping that the second most-watched sport in the world, cricket successfully makes a mark in the world’s biggest sporting market – the USA through the T20 World Cup 2024.

“Never imagined that cricket would be played in America. It’s very exciting. The ICC has built a couple of new stadiums, I would like to see the Americans watching the sport,” Yuvraj Singh, who was part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup-winning squad said on the popular American TV show ‘Good Morning America’.

Yuvraj was named one of the brand ambassadors of the tournament by the ICC ahead of the start of the showpiece event. The T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to kick off on June 01 with hosts USA taking on Canada in the tournament opener. The final of the tournament will be played on May 29. The tournament will be played across 9 venues in USA and the Caribbean.

Yuvraj explains difference between cricket and baseball

During his appearance on the TV show, Yuvraj also explained the basic difference between cricket and baseball for the American audience. Yuvraj revealed how he is often asked in America ‘what’s cricket?’ and said it is much different from baseball. Yuvraj explained how in baseball a player can swing at everything, but in cricket, there are more technicalities involved as the ball comes with great pace and bounce.

“Every time I meet an American, they ask me ‘what’s cricket?’. I tell them it’s like baseball, we just don’t run in four quarters, we run straight and back’. The cricket swing and the baseball swing, are very similar. It’s a similar set-up. In baseball, you can swing at everything. In cricket, you keep your bat down because the ball bounces and comes to you,” Yuvraj said on the show.

“Yeah, at the start, yes. Once you get in, you can start using your power. When you hit it out of the park, it’s called a Home Run in baseball, in cricket, it’s called a six. I think, in baseball, there is less time — after three strikes, you are out. In cricket, you have got to think probably quicker,” he added.

Yuvraj played an instrumental role in helping India clinch the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup under the legendary MS Dhoni in 2007. The left-arm all-rounder was exceptional with the bat throughout the tournament and played some impactful knocks for the team helping them lift the elusive trophy. Yuvraj scored 148 runs in the tournament, including a crucial 30-ball 70 in the semi-final against Australia.