NJ's cricket scene is 🔥

Cricket fever gripped Desis in America when the US cricket team, ranked 18th globally, defeated Pakistan, which ranked sixth, during a T20 Cricket World Cup match in June. The US team, composed mostly of players of South Asian and Caribbean descent, is making waves, and New Jersey is contributing to this momentum.

New Jersey is home to several thriving cricket leagues and many young players who show the potential of going pro. Of course, there are many men—and women—who also just play for the thrill of enjoying a sport they love.

The Garden State has had a vibrant cricket scene for some time, contributing players like Jasdeep Singh and captain Monank Patel to the USA men’s national cricket team. Among the many leagues in the state, the largest are the Millennium Cricket League (MCL) and the Cricket League of New Jersey (CLNJ).

There are over 400 leagues across the US and more than 200,000 players. The sport is set to be featured in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Anish Phadnis, who helps manage MCL, believes New Jersey offers the best league structure in the country because of the variety of options available. He’s seeing growing enthusiasm in the wake of the US win.

“More people are joining the leagues, and young kids are very much inspired by seeing the US team, and the Indian and Pakistani teams that traveled here,” Phadnis said.

USA Cricket (USAC), which became the sport's governing body in the US in 2017, introduced two national-level leagues: Minor League Cricket (MiLC) and Major League Cricket (MLC). Teams such as the New Jersey Stallions and the New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers compete in MiLC, with many players beginning their cricket careers in local leagues.

New Jersey’s cricket scene

Before a cricketer dreams of joining a national team, they start small; in South Asia, they may play gully cricket on the streets with neighbors. In New Jersey, diaspora kids train with indoor cricket academies like Cricmax, a coaching and training facility in Sayreville.

Chinmay Bhat, vice president of CLNJ, thought he’d never play cricket again after moving to the US in 2009. To his surprise, he found that cricket was alive and well, maintained by Desis and the Caribbeans who live here. He joined the Jersey Eagles Cricket Club and now serves as the team’s captain.

Bhat’s club is currently ranked third in the Premier Division. CLNJ has four divisions, from Division C at the lowest level to Premier Division at the highest.

Cricket tournaments in the fall and summer attract large numbers. This summer, CLNJ's 40-over league had 2,200 players, while the T20 league had 650. 

Finals are often live-streamed, drawing more viewers, especially when celebrity players such as Monank Patel, the captain of the US national cricket team, participate. The CLNJ admin team has been actively promoting the league among youth to attract younger players and, in turn, increase audience engagement.

Last year, the CLNJ administration introduced an award for the best under-19 female player. While men dominate the leagues, there are occasionally female members on teams.

The road from amateur to professional

Most players who pursue cricket have 9-to-5 jobs and play on the weekends.

“I would say out of the 2,200 people, 99 percent are amateur cricketers with jobs who play as a passion on the weekend,” Bhat explained, who is an engineer himself.

Yet, some manage to go professional. Saurabh Netravalkar, a software engineer at Oracle, became a sensation within Desi communities when they discovered his dual life as a left-arm medium-fast bowler for the USA cricket team.

Bhat's teammate, Burhan Saeed, a Sayreville resident, joined the New England Eagles cricket team, based in Boston, which competes in Minor League Cricket. 

Saeed’s cricket journey started in New York, where he grew up. He was allowed to skip gym class if he joined a cricket team, and this seemed like a good deal to him. He thrived in that environment and was selected for the USA under-19 team. But his mother insisted he study instead, so he turned down the opportunity. 

“Cricket wasn’t as big back then, and my mom was like, ‘No, you need to focus on your studies first.’ You know how brown parents can be,” Saeed said.

After high school, he pursued a career in IT while continuing to play cricket on the side.

“Working remotely makes it easier for me to manage cricket. Sometimes, I just take my laptop to a game,” he said.

He later played in US Open Cricket, a major tournament, impressing enough people to earn opportunities in Barbados and England, before returning to play for the New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers and, eventually, the New England Eagles.

Diversity within the leagues

South Asian and Caribbean players largely shaped cricket in the US, but team compositions vary by state. 

Saeed noted differences between New York and New Jersey leagues, with the former having more Pakistani-origin players and the latter more Indian-origin players. Despite intense cricket rivalries, the passion for the sport transcends national identities.

“Honestly, I’ve been playing with these guys for two years, and it’s such a comfortable environment. You see things on social media about Pakistanis and Indians going neck-and-neck, but it’s never like that here,” he said. “We don’t even think about who’s Indian or who’s Pakistani. It’s just a very chill, laid-back environment.”

Rising cricket fever in the US

The rise in Desi immigration to the US has boosted cricket’s popularity, even among non-immigrant communities, Bhat added. 

“There is no denying that cricket and the immigrant community are tied closely. But over the last five years, what I'm seeing is a lot of second-generation players coming up as well, which is very good to see,” Bhat said.

Reflecting on cricket’s growth in the US, Saeed said this is an exciting moment. 

“Even before the World Cup, there was already an increase in the quality of cricket, and a lot of money was being invested,” he said. “But the World Cup was like the cherry on top. It brought more funding into US cricket.”

Tehsin Pala is the associate editor of Central Desi.

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