New York, Jul 20 (PTI) New York State Assembly woman Jenifer Rajkumar has called on the ICC to select New York as one of the host cities for next year’s T20 World Cup, saying it’s the sport’s epicentre in the US with a large South Asian community.
The USA and the West Indies are going to jointly host the next T20 World Cup in June.
“On behalf of tens of thousands of New York cricket fans, I write to implore you to select New York City as the host for the ICC World Cup.
“I am a proud supporter of cricket, having played the sport as a child with my cousins in India,” Rajkumar, the first Indian-American woman elected to New York State Office, said in a letter to ICC chairman Greg Barclay.
She said New York City will be the ideal host of the World Cup since it is the hub of cricket in the United States. It is home to an estimated 100 cricket clubs, 59 grounds, and numerous leagues and even the New York City Police Department (NYPD) operates its own youth cricket league.
The city also proudly boasts the oldest continuously operating cricket club in America, Staten Island Cricket Club, which was founded in 1872.
Rajkumar described herself as a “proud supporter of cricket”.
“As the first Indian American woman elected to New York State Office, I see firsthand the incredible popularity of cricket in the South Asian American community.” She added that New York’s love for cricket and historic connections to the game makes the city “unquestionably the right choice” to host the World Cup and said the diverse communities of New York will be delighted to witness “the greatest cricket competition in their own backyard.” “Our love of cricket is due in no small part to New York City being the cross-section of the world. We have welcomed people from all nations where cricket is a national pastime.
“Our City is home to the largest South Asian community in the Western Hemisphere, and some of the largest West Indian, British, Australian, New Zealander, Emirati, and African diaspora communities.
“Every World Cup team has a fan base in New York City, for whom watching their favourite cricketers in person will be a dream come true,” she said.
New York continues to make cricket history, becoming one of six cities with a club in Major League Cricket.
“We are especially proud that New York’s club is a subsidiary of the legendary Mumbai Indians, and I will provide any help needed to ensure the construction of a cricket stadium in our city,” she said.
Her office said in a statement that the ICC World Cup would be an economic boon to the city of New York.
Rajkumar noted that selection of New York City would also commemorate the city’s deep history of cricket.
New York City hosted the first ever international cricket match in the world in 1844, when the American and Canadian national teams played an exhibition match.
Hosting the World Cup in New York City exactly 180 years later would bring the history of international cricket competition full circle, she said.
The city had also hosted the first ever documented cricket match in North America in 1751.
New York also hosted the famous 1859 United States vs. England match, the first time ever an English team played in the United States, and one of the most widely-reported sporting events in American history up to that time, the statement said.
Source: PTI News
