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FORT LAUDERDALE, United States: Cricket’s ability to grow its global presence beyond its heartlands while maintaining quality at the highest level will be tested next month at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.

The ninth edition of the tournament, in the game’s fastest and most explosive form, will be the biggest ever following the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to expand the field from 16 nations to 20.

It will also be the first major ICC event to be held, in part, in the United States, a country where attempts to develop the sport have consistently failed.

Three American venues – in Florida, Texas and New York – will host 16 of the group stage games, including the highlight match between India and Pakistan, which will be played in Long Island, New York.

The rest of the tournament will be played in the West Indies, including the Super Eight stage, semi-finals and final, which will be played at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

While cricket is widely played recreationally in the United States, with strong presences in all three states that have been chosen for the games, organizers are realistic about their chances of “converting” American sports fans.

Instead, large immigrant communities from cricket-loving backgrounds, including thousands of Indian fans in particular, are expected to pack the stadiums.

“I think, number one, we want to celebrate those who are already fanatical cricket lovers. They deserve to see the best players in the world come to their backyard and have that chance,” T20 World Cup USA, Inc. executive director Brett Jones told AFP.

“Number two, I think it’s about increasing curiosity in the game,” he said.

The ICC also sees the tournament as a stepping stone towards the sport’s return to the Olympics for Los Angeles 2028, when the T20 format will be used.

Major League Cricket, a T20 tournament, was launched last year and could also benefit from any surge in interest in the spectacular, big-hitting shortest form.

But it’s not just the American market that the ICC is focusing on – the expansion of the tournament has opened up opportunities for newer cricketing nations to compete on the big stage.

In recent years, the sport has managed to expand outside its traditional strongholds, with Ireland and Afghanistan gaining places in the elite 12-man side with full Test status.

But the ICC believes the shortest format is the perfect vehicle for the development of the game and this year’s edition will feature three T20 World Cup debutants in the USA, Canada and Uganda.

Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Oman are among the other nations who are relatively new to the big stage and will be looking to make their mark and grab attention with an upset win.

With the teams drawn in four groups of five teams, with only the top two advancing, none of the smaller nations are expected to progress beyond the group stage and there is a danger that the group stage will be mainly a ‘elimination’ process.

India, winners of the first edition in 2007, are favourites, with a squad full of players drawn from India’s first annual league.

Veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could be playing in their final big tournament and are desperate to make amends for last year’s ODI World Cup final defeat.

Despite being the epicenter of the modern game, India have not won a major title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Australia, winners of last year’s ODI World Cup along with the World Test Championship, have opted to leave out their veteran batsman Steve Smith, but batsman David Warner with the bat and pacemen Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins provide plenty of experience.

“There are five, six or seven teams that can win and we know that in tournament play it’s about doing the right things at the right time and winning at the big moments,” Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said.

Among those contenders, England are the defending champions but will be without the star of their 2022 triumph, Ben Stokes, the all-rounder managing his fitness after knee surgery and will look to skipper Jos Buttler to provide the fireworks with the bat. .

Co-hosts West Indies won the tournament in 2012 and 2016, and while the Caribbean side have struggled in the longer formats, they remain a threat in 20-over cricket and hope they can benefit from familiarity with the surfaces in the region.

South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan will fancy their chances of making an impact in a tournament that always produces surprises.