Virat Kohli on T20 World Cup in USA: 'Never thought we would play in USA, it’s going to have a huge impact'

Virat Kohli never expected to play professional cricket in the United States of America but the country co-hosting the T20 World Cup 2024 he feels shows the “growing impact of the sport in the world”. The USA are co-hosting the T20 World Cup with West Indies and will stage 16 matches across three venues in New York, Texas and Miami.

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“Honestly I never thought we would be playing cricket in any form in the states (USA), but now it’s a reality,” Kohli said in a video posted by US Consulate Mumbai on X.

“That tells you about the growing impact of the sport in the world and the United States is more than willing to accept the change and be probably the first ones on a global scale to accept it, in a way, with the World Cup,” he said.

#DYK, the upcoming T20 World Cup is the first major cricket tournament in the United States? Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli talks about why this is a historical moment for the sport, and his aspirations for its growing impact in the United States and across the world.… pic.twitter.com/KlzWmLYbbn

— U.S. Consulate Mumbai (@USAndMumbai) May 31, 2024

Kohli reached the USA on Friday evening and linked up with the India squad in New York ahead of their warm-up against Bangladesh on 1 June.

The star batter hoped that hosting a World Cup in USA would have a domino effect on the growth of the game.

“It’s a great start. It’s the ideal way to begin and it’s going to have a huge impact. In starting off, a kind of a domino effect and I hope it carries on for a long period of time,” Kohli said.

He also added that the large population of South Asian people in the USA can keep the game “alive” in the country.

“We have enough people from our regions to keep the game up and alive in the States and make the others more aware about what it feels like to play and watch cricket,” he added.

“It’s got great potential, with the MLC (Major League Cricket) as well. There is already franchise cricket happening there. It’s moving in the right direction."