Darren Lehmann thinks USA could be targeted for hosting World T20

After the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organized their first international tour to the United States of America, both the president Anurag Thakur and Indian limited-overs skipper MS Dhoni said that they are excited at playing cricket in the US given that it’s a futuristic market for the game. Joining them is the voice of Australian head coach Darren Lehmann.

Lehmann said that USA has the potential to be explored as a market for T20 cricket and can also host the World T20 in the future. He was quoted by cricket.com.au saying, “The Twenty20 circuit could include a stop in the United States, a country that could also be targeted for hosting a World Twenty20, which would be the best way, at least in my opinion, of breaking the game there,”

“Cricket can undoubtedly be a success in the US thanks to the already significant supporter base that exists there among its large Asian community. And a global event has the potential to capture the attention of those not necessarily interested in the sport already.”

He put forward the example of Soccer to explain how the World Cup can help the game expand in the region. “Soccer took the World Cup to the USA in 1994 and the benefits of doing that can now be seen, two decades on, with the growth of Major League Soccer, while rugby union has also grasped the nettle by awarding its 2019 World Cup to Japan, a country it sees as its next big market.”

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Cricket Australia also seems to be on the same page with the idea and thus it has renewed all rights for the next five years for Willow that has been a longstanding partner of the board. It includes men’s Tests, ODIs and T20s, women’s international matches and both the Big Bash League and the Women’s BBL.