Cricket is a very popular sport, being the most watched sport in the world after soccer. In the United States, football, basketball, and baseball still dominate.
But there is evidence that sports involving bats and balls are once again gaining traction in metropolitan Boston and across the country.
”I moved to Massachusetts in 2010. When I moved, we had a team of about 30 people. [and] There were about 600 players in 2010, assuming each team has 15 to 20 players. As of today, October 2023, there are approximately 72 teams playing,” said Kumar Puthrab, Massachusetts Cricket League President. “So we’ve doubled the number of teams, and the total number of players is around 2,000 to 3,000, with some variation. We’ve grown exponentially over the last 10 years.”
From Major League Cricket, which debuts in the United States this summer, to the high-stakes competition currently taking place at the Cricket World Cup, the so-called gentleman’s game of the 17th century is now making its way to the Greater Greater United States thanks to local immigrant communities. It’s growing explosively in Boston.
Kartik Shah, founder and director of the Greater Boston Cricket Foundation, said: “Men, women, children…playing for people over 40, even people over 50, even people over 60. There’s an opportunity.” “As the opportunities increase, there are more immigrants from all over the world who are trying to play this game. And cricket is played all over the world. And all of these people are getting the opportunity to play different versions. ”, different styles, different formats. ”
Will the proliferation of Massachusetts teams help add cricket to Boston’s roster of popular sports?
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kartik shahFounder and Director of the Greater Boston Cricket Foundation
pani kumar putrabPresident of the Massachusetts Cricket League