CHENNAI: The ongoing men’s T20 World Cup has been defined by one recurring plot: associate nations refusing to roll over against the ‘big boys’. The Netherlands pushed Pakistan to the brink in a tense opener, Nepal had England on the ropes, and the USA nearly gave India a scare.In the wake of these results, more and more associate teams have begun pressing for regular fixtures against full member nations. And this time, it was USA batter Shayan Jahangir who didn’t mince words and stated that the team has not received the kind of exposure and financial backing it needs from the ICC.It is to be noted that the ICC had taken over the welfare of USA players in the national set-up in December last year, including a key commitment to provide financial support.
Earlier, in September, the ICC had suspended USA Cricket (USAC) for serious breaches of the ICC Membership Criteria, with the board grappling with a severe governance and financial crisis.Things aren’t rosy on the field either. Two defeats on the bounce have pushed USA to the edge, and Friday’s crucial clash against the Netherlands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium will decide their fate. A defeat will shut the door on their Super-8 hopes.
“The exposure and the kind of funding that we also get from ICC is lacking. I think we’ve been given the tag of an associate nation, but we are nothing short of a great team. We almost beat India, having them 77-6 but Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) playing the way he played. But if we had clinched those moments, we would have beaten the powerhouse of a World Cup team. We haven’t been nurtured properly. It’s all our players who are putting in the hard yards without financial resources, without infrastructure.
I think if ICC pays more attention to us and all the associate nations, you’ll see more big games. You’ll see all these teams coming and changing their tag from associate nations to big teams as well,” said Shayan, the Pakistan-born batter who scored 49 in the 32-run defeat to his country of birth in their previous outing.Shayan said that, according to the schedule set by the ICC, USA play only 12 matches a year and requested more fixtures.
“Especially coming into this tournament, all major teams have played big T20 series. Pakistan played against Australia, New Zealand played against India, and we were playing against Sri Lankan ‘A’ team. Again, preparation is very important.“I think it has a lot to do with the funding as well. We don’t have the money to have those comps, have those big grounds that we can play on. I think if we have that funding from the ICC… it’s a request from us, personally from me, to really look into it and really nurture us. I’m telling you, there’s so much talent in associate cricket. There are so many cricketers who are so good but not given the exposure. I think there’s this one guy (Dipendra Singh Airee) from Nepal and he had scored a nine-ball half-century.
If it was at the highest level, then he would get recognition all over the world, and he’s still struggling to play league cricket all over the world,” he called it as he saw it.
