Mumbai: At the time when the International Cricket Council are trying to gauge the scope of making the United States a big market for the game, Australian cricket coach has added a new zing to ICC’s efforts by suggesting to take World Twenty20 to the USA.
While BCCI did their bit as they hosted West Indies in two-match T20 series in August, Caribbean Premier League moved to US for six of their games in July this year.
Lehmann, in an interview to 'Fairfax', said: "The Twenty20 circuit could include a stop in the United States, a country that could also be targeted for hosting a World Twenty20, which would be the best way, at least in my opinion, of breaking the game there."
"Cricket can undoubtedly be a success in the US thanks to the already significant supporter base that exists there among its large Asian community. And a global event has the potential to capture the attention of those not necessarily interested in the sport already,” added the former Australian cricketer.
While the doubts remain about cricket’s success in the USA, Lehmann cited how taking football World Cup to the nation helped for the development of the sport in the USA.
"Soccer took the World Cup to the USA in 1994 and the benefits of doing that can now be seen, two decades on, with the growth of Major League Soccer, while rugby union has also grasped the nettle by awarding its 2019 World Cup to Japan, a country it sees as its next big market," said Lehmann.
As reported by ‘cricket.com.au’, ten games from Australian T20 tournament, KFC Big Bash League, will be broadcast live in the USA and Canada through NBCSN this year, meaning cricket will be available in almost 85 million US households.
