Legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting is anticipating ‘exciting times’ for cricket in the USA ahead of the much-awaited clash between India and Pakistan in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup clash. The India-Pakistan match will be contested at the new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 9. Ricky Ponting recalled the epic encounter between India and Pakistan that was held at the iconic MCG during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
Ricky Ponting is looking forward to India’s match against Pakistan in New York at this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Ponting believes the tournament will help cricket thrive in the United States in the coming years.
Really exciting times for the world game- Ricky Ponting on India vs Pakistan clash at New York
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is eagerly awaiting India’s T20 World Cup group clash against Pakistan in New York as he believes the tournament will help cricket thrive in the United States in the coming years.
All eyes will be on the new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island as India face arch-rival Pakistan on June 9 in a match that will undoubtedly evoke memories of the epic encounter that took place at the MCG during the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.
India’s Virat Kohli stole the show in front of 90000 crowd at the MCG with a match-winning 82*, and another sold-out crowd is expected when the two traditional rivals meet at this year’s event, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States. Ricky Ponting spoke with host Sanjana Ganesan about the upcoming match in New York on the most recent episode of The ICC Review, and the Australian legend expects to see similar scenes in June as he did in Melbourne nearly two years earlier.
On the ICC Review, Ricky Ponting said about the upcoming clash between the two nations :
“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. You can imagine what it’s going to be like in New York. So, really exciting times for the world game,”
The two sides have faced off seven times in the T20 World Cup, with India winning six, including the inaugural edition’s final in 2007. Pakistan’s only victory came in 2021 when they beat India by 10 wickets in Dubai.
Ricky Ponting on his coaching job stint with Washington Freedoms and growth of cricket in the US
While the USA has a rich cricketing history, dating back to its participation in the first-ever international cricket match in 1844, Ponting believes that the sport has only begun to gain significant popularity in recent years.
This surge in interest can be attributed to various factors, including the hosting of fixtures between full-member sides and the emergence of franchise cricket competitions such as Major League Cricket, which consistently draws international stars. Recently appointed as the coach of Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket, Ricky Ponting is eager to be at the forefront of cricket’s development in the USA. Ricky Ponting said that he has the desire to grow the game in the United States and expects good reception at the T20 World cup 2024.
The former player added :
“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,”
“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,”
The T20 World Cup 2024 begins on June 1 with the match between hosts United States and Canada and looks to be a great carnival over a month long period of T20I cricket extravaganza.