The $125bn reason America is hosting the Cricket World Cup

This month, something strange is happening. America is hosting the Cricket World Cup. One of the world’s most popular sports is moving one of its most important tournaments to a country that, seemingly, could give a damn about it. Why? The reason goes beyond cricket.

Last year, more than $125bn in remittances was sent from the USA to India. The next highest route, USA to Mexico, was $67bn - barely half the amount. While Indian migration to America has a long history, it took off in the late twentieth century as skilled Indian workers headed for well paid jobs in America’s tech boom. That legacy can be seen today, with the CEOs of both Alphabet and Microsoft, Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, both of Indian descent

This diaspora, one I have been a part of having lived in San Francisco and worked in Silicon Valley, retains its links to India through all sorts of cultural connections. And, as ever with the South Asian diaspora, one of the most important of these is cricket.

How the world has changed since I first moved to the USA in 2003. Back then, we got funny looks as we played cricket every Saturday morning in baseball fields around the San Francisco Bay Area. Friendly locals would show curiosity, wondering why the ball was bouncing and why we bothered “pitching” with a straight arm. Baseball grounds-people would be more suspicious, concerned we were ruining their precious turf.

Today, there are more than 200,000 playing cricketers in America, double that in New Zealand, and the system supporting them is becoming stronger. America’s first professional league, predictably named Major League Cricket, is backed by Nadella and a suite of other big executives with Indian heritage. America’s own team is improving, its line up containing a strong core of Indian-heritage players. Remarkably, they beat Pakistan. The game, played at the Grand Prairie stadium, shows how the sport has grown. Formerly a baseball stadium, Grand Prairie is now the home of the US national cricket team. I wonder what the grounds-people would make of that.

Cricket has more ambitious dreams, however. It wants to crack the wider American public. Soccer, finally accepted, broke through partly thanks to its backing from Mexican migrants. Maybe cricket can do the same, backed by the strong support of the South Asian diaspora.

There is some appetite. Wise polling shows that nearly half (48%) of Americans are somewhat familiar with the sport and 31% would watch it in person or on TV if given the opportunity. Yet it may not need to. The economic heft of America’s Indian community, supported by followers from other cricket-playing countries, could be enough to sustain the sport even if it never takes middle America.

Either way, the tournament in America is a fascinating experiment. At Wise, we’ve long been interested in how international communities shape cultures. It’s why we’ve partnered with The Grade Cricketer, one of cricket’s major platforms, to look at how the sport is trying to enter the country. Together we’re asking that big question: can cricket truly crack America? My answer - I wouldn’t bet against it.

Head to The Grade Cricketer’s YouTube channel to watch The Grade American Road Trip, sponsored by Wise.