NEW YORK:
The T20 World Cup has arrived in the United States of America (USA) but it’s still too far from charming the local crowd. It was a courageous step by the ICC to conduct the showpiece event on the American shores, especially in New York. They, in fact, scheduled three India games – including the one against Pakistan – in the city, trying to add the much-needed glamour quotient to the tournament. However, the move doesn’t seem to be paying off well.
Since cricket isn’t one of the major sports being followed in the US, the lack of buzz, which usually is around an ICC event, can be felt very well. Addressing the pre-match presser on Monday, head coach Rahul Dravid also spoke about the ‘different feeling’ of playing the tournament in a country with the least favouritism for cricket.
“Yeah, obviously it’s slightly different. It’s obviously exciting that it’s coming to a new country, it’s coming to a new place. (It) feels slightly different in terms of, I guess, typically the buzz that you have around these events, with cricket not being one of the major sports in this country. So you don’t feel that kind of buzz over here. But hopefully, once our games start and a lot of the Indian fans do start coming in, you start seeing that similar kind of excitement,” Dravid said.
“So things are certainly different from that perspective. But yeah, I think from a preparation perspective and from what we want to get out of it, I don’t think that’s changed, our preparation, our professionalism, the way we are trying to approach things. It’s pretty similar to what we would normally do,” he added.
‘Strange to be practicing in a park’
Dravid also took a dig at the training facilities in the US. The teams playing in New York had to train at Cantiague Park which is about five miles away from the ground. Though the team’s intensity remains unchanged, the vibe of a big tournament is certainly missing in the States.
“It’s a bit strange to be practicing in a park. Obviously, at the World Cups you’d be in big stadiums or you’d be at cricket stadiums traditionally. But you know, we’re at a public park and practicing,” the India coach remarked.
