USA is a nation which was once far away from cricket. The first nation to play international match was nowhere near to the game. But now they are back to playing it and they're doing it in some style. Winning the series against test playing nation of Bangladesh, they've made a statement stating that they're not just to play, but they'll try their best to challenge toughest opponents. The sudden rise of cricket in USA is a beautiful story to tell, and equally beautiful is to know on how strategically they've taken all the necessary steps to reach to this level now. Their journey from baby steps to giant leap is certainly the one to learn for many.

The introduction of cricket to the land of first democracy had happened pretty early. The first ever international match of cricket was played between the North American countries of USA and Canada in 1844. But due to circumstances and lack of following, the team went downhill. Later on the team once again gained momentum since 1977 ICC trophy (now called as World Cup Qualifier), and then onwards they've gone upwards. Resurrecting back in the 21st century, the team is now making headlines into the Division 1 level of cricket they are playing. And it happened because of clever thinking of USA cricket board.

Knowing the lack of talent for cricket in their nation, they always knew that they had to import players from other cricket playing nations. Which is why one saw people like Saurabh Netravalkar and Harvik Desai play for them in 21st centuries. Going ahead in 2020, they made a list of pool of players who were extremely talented but either didn't get a chance to play for their nations, or were sidelined late on. In a win-win situation, the players found a team to play for at the international level, and USA found some gems whom they didn't have to train in order to succeed. Which is why one saw Indian U-19 World Cup winners like Unmukt Chand, Smit Patel from India, many others from Pakistan and the 2nd fastest centurion Corey Anderson shifting their base to USA.

Secondly, they started a domestic league on similar lines with Sheffield Shield, Ranji Trophy and County. The Minor League Cricket was started with the same objective of promoting the game in the nation. It gave the players a chance to interact with the local guys, and also ensured that players are equipped and blended and acclimatized with American conditions and wickets. And when it started to happen, it already appeased to the subcontinent people living there, and cricket started to gain some traction. That's exactly when in 2021, they circulated some of the most athletic moments of cricket online in their nation. Which is why, one saw US citizens in awe and admiration of the the superhuman catch taken by Harleen Deol.

And now having gained the interest of locals, they decided to launch the Major League Cricket, a franchise league on similar lines to IPL. And cleverly they invited IPL franchises to be a part of this league. International stars coming to the nation, with the viewership on Indian fans at the same time when cricket was gaining traction amongst local masses, saw lot of games being the crowd pullers in their newly built small stadiums. A successful league as it turned out to be saw the game's popularity heavily increased in the states. And using that advantage they had pre-planned hosting the T20 world cup 2024, which automatically allowed their team to be a part of it being the host nation.

They also ensured that the world cup is well promoted in the nation. And for that they had to appoint good ambassadors, when they chose to appease the Indian audience by having their national hero Yuvraj Singh. They did the same to appease Pakistani audiences by appointing their hero Shahid Afridi for the same cause. And they went ahead with the face of T20 and the most explosive batter in the form of Universe Boss Chris Gayle, which ensured someone from the host nation relevant to cricket is also the ambassador. And lastly, to appease the audiences worldwide, they chose to go ahead with Usain Bolt, who has his fanbase globally as the ambassador. They cleverly did it knowing his cricketing background at the initial level, and understanding that some global name can make it a huge success when they don't have any popular names related to cricket within their nation.

And the late step, for which they did all this hassle was to include cricket in 2028 Olympics which are scheduled to happen in Los Angeles. The only two sports missing in Olympics were football and cricket, the most popular ones. And knowing that BCCI was opposing the idea of including cricket in the Games, they put political pressure to ensure that BCCI agrees to what USA says. And when they agreed, they sought richest board's help to do all of the above and make cricket a huge success in their nation, with the ultimate purpose of making the Olympics happening in their nation the most successful one. And in their fruitful attempt to do so, they ended up helping the game to be promoted in their nation, and with increased infrastructure the understanding of the game, their cricket team now eyes to make it big at the international level.

Today, if the world cricket lovers considered USA to be a division 1 team, it is because all of the above which was planned was executed to perfection. A result of which, one also saw the team scale to new heights. One never imagined a USA batter to hit 6 sixes in an over, but the Indian-born Jaskaran Malhotra did it for USA. When one thought the series against Bangladesh and USA was useless and one-sided, USA managed to upset the test nation by winning the series against them. And unknowingly, all of it happened purely with the aim of making 2028 Olympics successful, and had nothing to do with the cricket's awareness. But amazing planning, perfect execution did the thing for USA. Which is why when one sees rise of associate nations like Afghanistan, one would see their dedication and passion. Whereas the case study of rise of cricket in USA will always show that how an aim to do something, might just end up doing better for some other things. And it will serve as an example of what proper planning and execution can lead anyone to. We wish USA team to scale new heights and want to see them challenge toughest opponents soon.