The US Sports scene has finally embraced cricket and the 2024 T20 World Cup will be the first on American soil. In the build-up to the upcoming tournament, Indian Cricket Team captain, Rohit Sharma, was at the Nassau County International, New York, and was given the golden opportunity to look at the NBA championship trophy. The Larry O’Brien trophy made a huge impression on India’s captain.
After the hilarious personality had a make-believe small talk with the trophy, he was asked, “Who do you think of when you see this trophy?”
It was the 6x champion, Michael Jordan, who crossed his mind immediately. As his all-time favorite NBA player, the Bulls legend was bound to be an automatic choice for the swashbuckling batter,
“My favorite has always been Michael Jordan. What he did for Chicago Bulls is obviously inspiring.”
Then, the Indian skipper also admired LeBron James and Stephen Curry. The 37-year-old tried to lift the Larry O’Brien but felt it was too heavy. Just the sheer weight of it made him realize that it was created for NBA athletes who are built like Greek gods. While Sharma did have a chance to feel the Larry O’Brien, he would love to take the World Cup trophy home.
Team India is burdened with heavy expectations
The Indian Cricket Team will kick off their World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5, at Nassau Country International Cricket Stadium. In NBA terms, they have a superteam stacked with top-flight players from top to bottom.
Despite having arguably the deepest squad for the past decade or so, their last WC win came in 2007. Thus, fans will be left despondent if they fail to capture the trophy this year.
This is the first time the USA is organizing a cricket tournament, something which wasn’t even imagined until recently. Cricket is now tapping into the country’s sports market which could be a big turning point in catching up with soccer as the most popular global sport.
At any rate, the amalgamation of NBA and cricket is a delight for mutual fans of the sports. International Cricket Council(ICC) took a gamble on USA and it can prove to be a fruitful one in the long run.