New Delhi: The United States of America (USA) is all set to meet the Netherlands in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup today. And, the Dutch hold a dominant track record over the Americans, winning all three of their T20I encounters.
The USA didn’t have an ideal start to their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign either as they lost their opening two matches—by 29 runs against India and 32 runs against Pakistan. But the score lines do not fully reflect their competitiveness, which they will bring to the field once again.
Against India, the USA pushed the contest deep, rattling the hosts with their bowling effort led by Shadley van Schalkwyk. Had Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav not produced a match-defining half-century, the outcome might well have been different.
This fighting spirit is not new for the Monank Patel-led USA, both on and off-field. At the previous T20 World Cup, the USA, often dubbed as NRI team or ‘green card’ team, captured global attention, most notably with a dramatic Super Over victory against Pakistan.
The ‘green card’ squad
The USA squad includes 10 players who were part of the 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. The team is led by Monank Patel, an entrepreneur who previously operated a Teriyaki Madness franchise in Florence, South Carolina. He moved to the United States from India in 2016 to pursue business opportunities, while also coaching young cricketers in New Jersey.
Like Patel, several members of the squad balance cricket with full-time jobs, and some have only recently committed to the sport professionally. A significant portion of the team comprises players of Indian origin who moved to the US for work and now represent the country internationally.
Bowler Jessy Singh serves in the merchant navy. Right-handed batter Shayan Jahangir, who has roots in Pakistan, runs workshops and training camps to mentor young cricketers. Harmeet Singh has taken on delivery jobs and warehouse shifts to support himself, while Ali Khan previously worked as a sales representative for Cricket Wireless in Dayton, Ohio, before turning to cricket full time.
These are among the players returning to represent the USA in the 2026 edition.
In 2024, Andries Gous was the team’s leading run-scorer with 219 runs, but he has managed just 19 runs across the first two matches this tournament.
Left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar , who works at Oracle, was the USA’s top wicket-taker in 2024 with six scalps. So far in 2026, he has claimed just one wicket, that of Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz.
Against India, Netravalkar endured a particularly difficult outing, conceding 65 runs in four overs at the Wankhede Stadium. The spell (0/65) became the most expensive bowling figures in a single T20 World Cup innings, surpassing the previous record of 64 runs, held by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya.
The suspension
The US journey to the top tier international cricket has been anything but smooth, marked by repeated suspensions, poor governance, administrative turmoil, missed qualifications, and then the resurgence. Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, they once again faced the ICC wrath.
Last year in September, the council suspended the membership of the country’s cricket governing body USA Cricket for their “repeated and continued breaches of its obligations as an ICC Member”.
However, the ICC Board decided that USA’s national teams will retain their right to participate in world events, including preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28).
Now this year, on 28 January, just days before the commencement of the tournament, USA batter Aaron Jones was charged with five breaches of the Anti-Corruption Code, hence, suspended from playing all cricket with immediate effect.
The September 2025 suspension of USA Cricket came just three years before Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Olympics, where cricket is about to make its return as an Olympic sport. But it isn’t the first time the USA has faced such ICC action.
Since the USA Cricket has been suspended, their world cup squad was picked under a “new selection process that has been developed in partnership with the ICC and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to ensure transparency and a truly merit-based process for identifying and selecting the best eligible players to represent the United States.”
“All members of the selection panel submitted Conflict of Interest forms to the USOPC ahead of the meeting, and the selection meeting was observed by a USOPC-appointed Compliance Officer to ensure adherence to the Cricket Selection Procedures,” said a USA squad announcement release issued 30 January.
The team trained for several weeks in Sri Lanka, where the focus was on skill development, game awareness, and team bonding. They are placed in Group A alongside India, Pakistan, Namibia and the Netherlands.
Hamzah Kholwadia, a UK-based journalist who has closely followed USA cricket, believes the team is still adjusting to life in the ICC’s top tier, particularly after recently hosting major tournaments at home. “It’s really worrying because you don’t want them to turn into another Zimbabwe, a team with immense potential and talent that couldn’t fully capitalise on it,” Kholwadia said.
He noted that while the squad boasts several exciting and promising players, the administration needs to step up. “The USA now faces significant administrative red tape in managing its affairs.”
Looking at relatively new entrants like Italy and Scotland, he suggested there is much the USA can learn about operating as a smaller cricketing nation without unnecessary setbacks.
The history
Not many are aware that the USA played its first-ever international cricket match in 1844 against Canada, which the Canadians went onto win.
However, cricket in the United States faded into the background until the immigration patterns in the latter half of the 20th century reignited interest in the sport.
More than just a shortage of facilities or differences among players from diverse backgrounds, the USA Cricket has struggled with poor governance, which led to repeated suspensions and bans.
The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), formed in 1965, struggled for decades to unify the country’s diverse and fragmented cricketing communities. The ICC imposed sanctions at various points, dropping the USA from tournaments, suspending membership and withholding funding. Yet, these measures did little to address structural issues.
The USA broke into the elite ICC competition in 2004 by qualifying for the Champions Trophy after winning the ICC Six Nations Challenge, which featured Scotland, Namibia, the Netherlands, UAE and Canada, all participants in the T20 World Cup 2026.
But progress was short-lived. In 2007, the ICC suspended USACA over governance issues. Though matters briefly stabilised, further concerns over governance and finance led to another suspension and funding cuts in 2016.
Following which, in 2017, USACA was expelled altogether and replaced by a new governing body, USA Cricket.
Despite these setbacks, glimmers of hope began to emerge for the USA cricket, with improvements in infrastructure standing out as one of the key positive developments.
But as of today, the USA has only two proper cricket grounds which meet ICC standards. Central Broward Park in Florida is their first ICC-certified cricket venue.
Later, Grand Prairie Stadium was converted from a minor league baseball park into a cricket stadium between late 2020 and 2023. It officially hosted its inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) season in July 2023.
In recent years, the USA has leaned significantly on the West Indies for support. The West Indies has become a crucial partner in advancing, and occasionally hosting, USA cricket’s development programmes.
Their successful joint bid to co-host the 2024 T20 World Cup further deepened this relationship and helped fast-track the growth of USA cricket.
The major league moment
The launch of Major League Cricket marked a turning point. MI New York, owned by Mukesh Ambani, won the inaugural title, defeating the Seattle Orcas, owned by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Nadella, Ross Perot Jr., and the owners of four IPL franchises were among investors who committed $120 million to the league, signalling serious intent for cricket’s future in the United States.
On the international stage, results began to follow.
In 2018, the USA won Division Three of the World Cricket League and earned promotion. In 2019, the ICC reinstated the country with Associate status. The same year, they regained ODI status and soon after recorded their first T20I victory. In 2021, they achieved a landmark win over Ireland, their first against a Full Member nation.
The defining breakthrough came ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. The USA defeated Bangladesh 2–1 in a bilateral series, overcame Canada in their World Cup opener, and later in the tournament came the super over magic against Pakistan.
They progressed to the Super Eight stage in the 2024 tournament which was definitely a significant moment in American cricket.
But, their ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 campaign hasn’t been pleasant so far. Will the USA manage to turn their fate around not only against the Netherlands today, but also against Namibia on February 15?
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: No boycott, Pakistan now says cricket team will play against India in T20 World Cup clash