Ponting Foresees ‘Exciting Times’ for Cricket: India-Pakistan T20 World Cup Clash
The upcoming India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match at the newly built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island on June 9 is expected to rekindle memories of their legendary clash at the MCG during the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.
Indian cricket star Virat Kohli, who stole the show in Australia with a match-winning 82*, is expected to draw another sold-out crowd when the two traditional rivals meet at this year’s event, co-hosted by the West Indies and USA.
Cricket legend Ricky Ponting discussed the upcoming clash in New York with host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. Ponting anticipates a similar atmosphere to the one he witnessed in Melbourne nearly two years ago.
“I’ve seen it firsthand here in Australia, in Melbourne last time around, where there were 95,000 people in the stadium and another 50,000 people outside the stadium,” Ponting said. “You can imagine what it’s going to be like in New York. So, really exciting times for the world game.”
Despite the USA’s rich cricket history, dating back to the first-ever international cricket match in 1844, Ponting believes the sport has only recently started to gain popularity. This growth is attributed to hosting fixtures between full-member sides and the rise of franchise cricket competitions like Major League Cricket, which continues to attract international stars.
Imagining the atmosphere of a full crowd at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York
Ponting, who recently signed as coach of Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, is eager to contribute to the sport’s growth in the USA.
“I think there’s a great opportunity to continue to grow and promote the game in that part of the world. And that’s a big part of the reason that I took the coaching job at Washington Freedom, to be a part of that sort of movement to grow the game in the US,” Ponting added.
“There’s obviously so many expat Indians, West Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, and Afghans in that part of the world that we know that they will continue to promote the game. But what we have to do is get the Americans into loving and understanding the game of cricket.”
Ponting is optimistic about the potential for rapid growth of cricket in the USA, and supports the franchise model as a means to propel the game forward in the region.
“I’d like to think it can become really big and as I said, actually become really big quite quickly,” Ponting opined.
In the latest edition of the ICC Review, Delhi Capitals coach and ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting gives his insight on how wicket-keeper/batter Rishabh Pant will reintegrate into the IPL setup.
“What I’m hearing, I think part of the franchise model with the teams that were in last year was everyone has to sort of build their own stadium in the different cities that were playing the games.
“And I think when that happens in a few years, there’ll be the potential to grow the tournament out, maybe add a couple more teams.
“And once you start playing in not just the six but in a lot of these big cities in the US, then I think there’s an opportunity for great growth and quick growth.
“And we shouldn’t sit back and just think in two years it’s going to be a mini IPL, it probably won’t be that. But I think that’s what we should all be aiming for and doing our best to promote the game the best way that we can.”