Nisarg Patel, the left-arm spinner hailing from Ahmedabad but now residing in America, eagerly anticipates the opportunity to glean insights from the seasoned Indian cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and the prolific Virat Kohli during their encounter at the T20 World Cup match in New York on June 12. Having honed his skills in India prior to relocating to the US in 2003, Nisarg finds himself among a cohort of semi-professional cricketers selected to represent the co-hosts in the ICC event commencing on June 1.
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Nisarg awaiting to bowl at Virat Kohli
At 36 years old, Nisarg holds a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences and is employed full-time at a medical research firm. While the USA embarks on their T20 World Cup journey against Canada on June 1, it is the prospect of facing his homeland that fills Nisarg with the greatest anticipation.
“Being born in India, having lived here and having roots here, playing against our heroes that we have watched over the years. We can’t wait to be honest,” Nisarg, who is also lower in the order, told PTI. He is currently training for the mega event in Ahmedabad.
In the Indian squad, there are two left-arm spinners, Jadeja and Axar Patel, and Nisarg aims to seize the opportunity to learn from the seasoned all-rounder before their clash in New York.
“I would love to spend time with Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja, who play the same role as me for my team. He clearly has a lot more experience.
“I would ask Virat the run machine, how do you do that? Especially when it comes to chasing and simple things of Jadeja like how he prepares for batting, bowling and fielding.
“What kind of thought process does he have when he bowls to an attacking batsman, is he trying to hit his wickets or is he just trying to control and buy wickets that way, so he is just trying to pick little things,” said Nisarg, appearing in 41 ODIs and 20 T20s.
This marks the inaugural occurrence of a significant cricket event in the United States. With the sport slated to feature in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, it will be intriguing to observe the local response, particularly given the limited exposure to cricket in the region.
Primarily propelled by the South Asian and Caribbean communities, cricket maintains its foothold in the country. Notably, Major League Cricket emerged as another significant milestone in the sport within the region last year.
“There’s a lot of good things happening, Major League and Minor League cricket, but that needs to change a little bit. It has only been a year since the Major League was active. Personally, I would like to see U19 or U21 cricketers given a mandatory place in the playing XI.
“I would also like to see American contract players in the eleven, giving these players the opportunity to play with and against the bigger names.
“If they don’t get that opportunity, it doesn’t help anyone. How much can you learn while sitting in the dugout? What’s the best way to grow the game in the US? “It has to be a mix of both. If South Asian and Caribbean people don’t play, the American community won’t get a chance to experience the game.
“What ultimately needs to change in the US is that an American child in high school needs to see a future in the game. There are so many sports in America, the country was built on Olympic medals. For cricket to succeed, we have to show them that there is a career in playing cricket.
Nisarg said his team is confident there will be some upsets in the tournament.
“The first goal of being an underdog is to qualify for the Super 8. In our group we have Canada, and we are confident that we can beat them. We have beaten Ireland before, and India and Pakistan. We all know that Pakistan is a very good team, but it is also a team that can upset other sides.
“India come in with a lot of experience, but they come to play in conditions they are not used to. Like you said, anyone can beat anyone in a T20 game.