If America can sometimes be seen as a land of extremes, then the USA team preparing to take part in the U-19 T20 Women’s World Cup is in some ways a microcosm of that, be it demographically, culturally or geographical.
There are players representing seven states from coast to coast: from New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina in the east, to California and Washington in the Pacific Northwest, to Texas in the south and even two players from Missouri to showcase the Show-Me State in Middle America.
Culturally, they all share a bond in that every player on the team is the daughter of at least one parent, and in many cases both, who is a first-generation immigrant from India. But more impressive is the small miracle of the sample size they are drawing from.
Most random statistics would suggest that it shouldn’t be difficult to find 11 quality players in a country of 350 million people, even if the actual number of registered cricketers in the country could vary from 25,000 to 100,000 depending of the country from which the data were extracted. However, there are only 283 total females registered in each age group in the USA, less than 1% of the total pool of amateur players, according to data shared during USA Cricket’s most recent AGM.
Some of them have been playing cricket for more than half their lives. Others have only started since the Covid pandemic, and in one case, precisely because of it. Some live in cities where there are enough girls to form an all-girl team or mini-league to compete against other girls. Other players are literally pioneers, the first and in some cases only women of any age group to play in their city or state, forced to join boys’ age group or men’s teams if they want to get a game.
In some sports, the odds would be stacked not only against individuals, but also against the group that reaches the tournament. But these girls will prove to be just one more example of how to live the American dream by donning the red, white and blue when they take to the field for their Group A opener against Sri Lanka in Benoni as part of the first cricketer in the USA. team to qualify for any World Cup since 2010, when the U19 boys did so.
She would know better than most. Just over three years ago, she was making her senior U.S. women’s team debut at a time when there was no such thing as a U.S. women’s U19 team, let alone a World Cup for women U19.
“Women’s cricket has grown rapidly starting with the new CPL and Fairbreak Women’s tournaments,” said Kodali. “It’s an absolutely amazing time to start playing this game right now.”
“This team is exactly what America is, because America is known for its diversity”
Aditi Chudasama
“These girls, even though they’re young, they’re going somewhere, they’re doing things. When I started, a lot of guys thought it was just a waste of time. But both of them coming in, especially being the young ones to come in, definitely inspired a lot of us to keep pushing and trying to achieve that goal of representing a national team like they did.”
The only other American-born players on the team at the time, in May 2019, were California field hockey convert Erica Rendler and Shebani Bhaskar, who was born in Illinois but has traveled the world for most of her life as the daughter of an American diplomat. But in the U.S. women’s team that participated in the Women’s T20 World Cup qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates last September, 11 of the 15 players were teenagers. All but one of them would double as part of the U19 World Cup squad, and all but two are American-born.
In Kodal’s first two tours with the USA Women in 2019, she played two matches and mostly rode the bench as a reserve with raw but raw fast bowling talent. But Kodal’s stature has risen since then, to the point where he was named vice-captain for the senior team in Abu Dhabi, not to mention captaining the U19s for the World Cup.
“She was trying to work on different variations and trying to think about the batter, how to play and manipulate the batter. I think she’s grown as a person and has that leadership role with the under-19s, all the girls .really look at her.
“We’ve been working on this for a year because we identified very quickly that she was going to be a leader in the future. I don’t think we noticed that growing up, but the way she’s developed her confidence has shown in the last two years”.
“I think with the experience she’s got now with Fairbreak and the opportunity in the CPL, she’s very commanding with the players,” Sriharsha said. “I saw it in US citizens. Isu [Vaghela] and I went out to bat behind a wicket and she’s saying to the girls in the crowd, ‘These are the two best batsmen in the West. If we take those two out, they’re done and we win the championship. This is when I need the best of you all.’ I was like, “Oh wow.” I even said, ‘Geets, that was good’. And she said, ‘I know, we’re going to catch you!’
“She’s got a never-give-up kind of attitude. And she also speaks the language of a teenager, which helps a little bit as well. So she’s a real vice-captain for me in such a young team.”
“It has been an honor to represent the USA, and especially Seattle and Bellevue in Washington,” said Aras. “I’m looking forward to helping younger girls get into the sport and not be afraid to play with the boys and be discriminated against. [against] in a way.”
Speaking of discrimination, the U19 World Cup squad made headlines online when it was revealed on USA Cricket’s social media account in December. A graphic featuring each player’s headers was included, prompting derisive comments mainly from sections of the cricket community outside the US, who focused on the team’s ethnic background and labeled them, ‘India B-side’.
But the players just brush it off, eager to show their pride in wearing the Stars & Stripes as they hope to beat the odds against the Test nation competition they will face until January.
“Every cricketer who grows up wanting to play professionally, they all want to have their name on their back, to have their country’s flag on their chest. For me it’s no different. I’ve always wanted to play for the country. I think it’s a honor to be part of history to play in the first U19 World Cup”.
Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo’s USA Correspondent @PeterDellaPenna
