In a recent interview, Conrad Tribble, the US Consul General in Karachi, expressed optimism about the growing popularity of cricket in the United States as the nation gears up to host the ICC T20I World Cup for the first time later this year.
Tribble underscored the tremendous excitement among Americans for the upcoming cricket extravaganza, labeling it as a fantastic opportunity to showcase both the sport and the United States to a global audience, including enthusiasts in Pakistan.
“This is the first time we’re hosting an international cricket event like this. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase cricket in the United States, to showcase the US and sports to a huge audience overseas, including here in Pakistan. We’re really excited about it, and I think it will help cricket grow in the US,” Tribble remarked.
Highlighting the unifying power of sports, Tribble emphasized its ability to foster connections among nations. “Sports can always play a role in bringing people together. It is one of the easiest and best tools for bringing people together for people-to-people contacts,” he said.
The anticipated match between arch-rivals Pakistan and India on June 9 in New York particularly caught Tribble’s attention. He also noted the significance of the match between the US and Pakistan, which precedes the highly anticipated encounter between the sub-continental rivals.
“Pakistan and India are playing on the 9th in New York, three days before then it’s the US and Pakistan playing. So, that’s the match that I’m looking at first as the most important match for a US diplomat here in Pakistan. It will be a great event and I’m sure it will be a lot of fun for all of us to be able to watch that,” he stated.
Reflecting on the historical significance of cricket in the US, Tribble revealed that cricket was once the most popular sport in the country before being overtaken by baseball. However, he expressed hope that with the hosting of the ICC T20I World Cup, cricket would transcend its niche appeal and reach broader communities.
“The US actually has a long history with cricket. People don’t necessarily know that cricket was the most popular sport in the country for the first 100 years of our existence. George Washington played cricket, he played wickets but it was cricket. Cricket was the most popular sport up until really the Civil War and baseball kind of took over after that. So, we have a long history of cricket,” he shared.
Drawing parallels with the rise of soccer’s popularity in the US over the past few decades, Tribble envisioned a similar trajectory for cricket, predicting it to become a sport with massive appeal across American society.
“We’ll come back with a cricket powerhouse team, if not in this tournament, then soon enough,” he expressed optimistically.
When questioned about his personal involvement in the sport, Tribble admitted to becoming a keen follower of cricket during his time in Pakistan, expressing admiration for the Pakistani team’s prowess.
“I think Pakistan will be an impact team in the World Cup. I’m a bit of a diplomat so I will refrain from commenting on individual players in the Pakistani team. Obviously, the captain is hugely important. I saw some of them playing in the PSL and I think Pakistan is going to be a very tough team to beat. It will be our first really hard match in the tournament. But I expect I expect Pakistan to go a long way,” the consul general said.
Assuring support for fans traveling to the US for the World Cup, Tribble affirmed the consulate’s commitment to facilitating travel arrangements. “We’re doing everything to help people prepare to travel to the United States,” he assured.
“We will do the best we can to facilitate as many people as possible to travel to the United States to watch the cricket tournament and for obviously, every other reason that they want to travel,” he concluded.
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