AMERICAN EXPEDITION

With the United States set to co-host the T20 World Cup, Gomesh S takes a look at how far the sport has come in the country, what lies ahead and more...

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0N Saturday night, just as India was getting in the mood for the IPL final between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, halfway across the world, something peculiar was happening at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston. It was the third T20I between the United States of America and Bangladesh. And Mustafizur Rahman decided to do his magic.

He took 6/10, ensuring that the visitors did not face a clean sweep. Now, what was peculiar about the match and the six wickets? Each of Rahman's six wickets were of batters who were born in different countries.

A former Pakistan U-19 player, a former Canadian, a former Black Caps international, a domestic cricketer from South Af rica, one USA-born Punjabi and an Indian-born American.

In many ways, it was testament to the 'nation of immigrants' image the country has and the dream it offers. It's also a perfect example as to how cricket stands as a sport in the United States. "I think if you see in the last four years, a lot of players have qualified to play for the US," Harmeet Singh, who did not feature in the third T20I but had a crucial role in the series win, tells this daily. "There are guys from South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka... a lot of guys have made their move and there were guys already from these countries from before. So, the USA being the land of immigrants, it's very welcoming. On top of that, guys who are already in the team before us are also highly motivated to perform better because of the competition," he adds.

Born in Mumbai, Harmeet featured in two U-19 World Cups for India, including in the titlewinning 2012 side. However, over the next seven years, things didn't go his way. When the opportunity came knocking to play in the Major League Cricket (domestic tournament in the USA), he took it with both hands.