A rise to the top; a Cary teen's journey to the Cricket World Cup
Posted October 17, 2023 1:44 p.m. EDT
In North Carolina, the sport of cricket is starting to grow in popularity.
A 16-year-old boy from Cary is headed to the Cricket World Cup in January.
The U.S. national under-19 team hasn’t qualified for the World Cup since 2010. In August’s I.C.C. Americas Region Qualifier, vice-captain Utkarsh Srivastava didn’t know if his team was going to make it.
“We were actually very nervous when we went to Canada because we lost the first game,” Srivastava said. “After losing the first game, none of us were confident enough.”
To make it to the world stage in Sri Lanka, they had to beat Canada in the final match. Srivastava said the win was joyous.
“It's just that we've made it,” Srivastava said. “No one expected it. No one expected it.”
However, Emerging Cricket contributor Nate Hays had confidence in the team. With more than 2,000 players registered in the Triangle Cricket League, he says the cricket community is strong.
“This is not a big area,” Hays said. “This is not a metropolitan area.
“We do have a great ground here. We do have an enthusiastic community.”
Raleigh hosted the last leg of the 2019 under-19 trials. This past summer, the inaugural season of Major League Cricket had seven of its 19 matches in Morrisville.
Hays says the sport’s hold in North Carolina has been inspiring for youth players. Plus, he said the debut of Minor League Cricket in 2021 has changed the game for the nation’s cricketers.
“It's expedited the growth of these, these young players in the U.S.A. like nothing has before and nothing could,” Hays said.
Sanjay Stanley, who is a minor league player in Morrisville, said the new leagues have given youth players like Srivastava something more to reach for.
“He has the potential to do that,” Stanely said of Srivastava. “You just [have to] keep him on track and I think the best is yet to come.”
Srivastava says it’s his hope to compete in the major leagues one day.
“As a kid who came from North Carolina, from Cary, North Carolina, and ended up playing U.S.A National Team, I want people to [think] of me as a role model when they're youngsters, when they’re growing up,” Srivastava said.
For now, Srivastava is focused on Sri Lanka.
