USA Cricket confident of hosting 2024 T20 World Cup on the back of MLC's success - Reports
USA Cricket is aiming to convince the International Cricket Council (ICC) of its hosting credentials for the 2024 T20 World Cup following the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC).
An earlier report by News 18 mentioned that the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup could be shifted to England due to the lack of progress in terms of infrastructure.
The proposed solution by the ICC would see the West Indies and the USA hosting the 2030 edition instead, by the time the infrastructure of the venues should be wrapped up.
Dismissing claims that the ICC is considering switching the host nation for the tournament, a USA Cricket administrator told PTI:
“We haven’t had any discussions with the ICC in this regard. We are putting our best foot forward in preparing necessary infrastructure for the T20 World Cup, which is a year away."
ICC also showed its confidence in USA Cricket by confirming that the organization is not looking elsewhere to host the tournament.
“There has been no discussion on any ICC forum on shifting the T20 World Cup 2024 from the West Indies and the USA. It will go ahead and an announcement on the venues will be made shortly," an ICC official told PTI.
USA have played host to a handful of T20Is in the past, primarily involving the West Indies. USA have also contested a set of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) matches, but are planning to climb higher up the cricket hierarchy with a major upheaval that begins with the Major League Cricket.
MLC 2023 is scheduled to take place in July in Texas, USA
The franchise-based T20 league, which has been in the works since 2019, was sanctioned by the ICC recently. A total of six franchises will partake in the first edition of the Major League Cricket Like most of the newfound T20 leagues, it has received backing from the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners, who wish to expand their market.
The draft, which involved major international players and a slew of local talent, took place in March 2023. The entirety of the first season will be played at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas in July 2023.
Expecting the first edition of MLC to resolve any settling doubts, the official said:
“Concerns about makeshift venues etc are natural because the US does not host cricketing events regularly but we have the Major League Cricket coming up and a successful hosting of the T20 tournament will ward off a lot of concerns."
He continued:
“We are ready for staging the MLC T20. Some frontline cricketers from across the world are participating in the tournament. That will go a long way in establishing our credentials as a big-ticket event host."
Will the 2024 T20 World Cup and the MLC prove to be the game-changers for USA Cricket? Let us know what you think.