How Cricket Is Spreading Globally: USA, Canada, Germany, and Beyond
Cricket's globalisation accelerated after the 2024 T20 World Cup was co-hosted by the USA — exposing the sport to a new audience and driving ICC expansion to 108 member nations. This guide covers the countries where cricket is growing fastest, the barriers to expansion, and why the USA is the most significant emerging market.
The ICC has 108 member nations (12 Full Members with Test status, 96 Associate and Affiliate members). Cricket is officially played in countries as diverse as Germany, Italy, Canada, Nepal, and the USA — but the gap between Full Member nations and the rest is extreme: Nepal and the UAE have played more cricket than some Full Members, yet still lack Test status. The 2024 T20 World Cup co-hosting by the USA was the ICC's most significant globalisation move in decades — placing T20I cricket in New York (Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, a temporary 34,000-seat venue built specifically for the tournament) for the first time.
USA Cricket
The USA has a large South Asian diaspora (approximately 4 million people of Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan origin) who form the core cricket audience. The USA's 2024 T20 World Cup moment: defeating Pakistan (2006 ICC World Cricket League Champions) by 5 wickets — the most significant Associate Member win in T20 World Cup history. USA's squad composition reflects diaspora cricket: players of Indian, Pakistani, West Indian, and South African heritage, with several having played in sub-regional Caribbean leagues. Major League Cricket (MLC), the USA's franchise T20 league (launched July 2023 with 6 teams including MI New York — owned by Mumbai Indians), is the primary development engine for USA cricket's professional infrastructure.
Other Growth Markets
Beyond the USA, cricket's fastest-growing markets: Canada — large South Asian diaspora in Toronto; hosted 1979 Cricket World Cup (the only non-England/ICC Full Member co-host before USA 2024); Netherlands — cricket's fastest-growing European nation, regular ICC World Cup participants; Germany — 25,000+ registered cricket players, primarily from South Asian and African migrant communities; Nepal — the first Himalayan Full Member (2017); Uganda — the first East African Full Member (2024, granted Test status at the same ICC board meeting as co-hosting the 2026 T20 World Cup); and Afghanistan — the most dramatic rise (refugee camps to ICC Full Member in ~15 years).
Barriers to Global Growth
Cricket's globalisation faces specific barriers: pitch infrastructure (cricket requires more specialised grounds than football — a standard club cricket pitch requires a turf preparation cycle of 6-8 months); length of the game (even T20 is 3+ hours — harder to schedule in non-cricket markets with shorter attention spans for new sports); absence from the Olympics (cricket is not an Olympic sport, removing the biggest global sport exposure mechanism; cricket has applied for inclusion in 2032 Brisbane and Los Angeles 2028 Games); and BCCI dominance of revenues (India generates 75-80% of ICC revenue — other countries have limited investment capacity to develop infrastructure in associate nations).
Frequently asked questions
Is cricket played in the USA?
Yes — cricket has been played in the USA since the 18th century (the first international cricket match was USA vs Canada, 1844, predating the first football or baseball international). Modern USA cricket is powered by South Asian diaspora communities and Major League Cricket (MLC), a franchise T20 league launched in 2023. The USA co-hosted the 2024 T20 World Cup with the West Indies — the first ICC event on American soil — and upset Pakistan in a T20I at Nassau County Stadium, New York. USA is an ICC Full Associate Member and is targeting Full Member (Test) status within the decade.
How many countries are ICC members?
The ICC has 108 member nations as of 2026: 12 Full Members (with Test status) and 96 Associate and Affiliate Members. The 12 Full Members are: England, Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies (a regional team), New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Ireland. Full Member status entitles a country to play Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. Associate Members can play T20Is and some ODIs but not Test cricket — to gain Test status requires ICC evaluation of infrastructure, governance, and playing standard.
Why is cricket not in the Olympics?
Cricket is not in the Olympics because: it was removed after the 1900 Paris Olympics (where England beat France in a single match — the only Olympic cricket event); the ICC did not apply for readmission for most of the 20th century; and the format length (even T20 at 3 hours requires significant scheduling space at a Games already packed with events). The ICC applied for inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics (cricket has been approved as an exhibition sport for LA 2028) and Brisbane 2032. Inclusion in LA 2028 would be cricket's largest single globalisation event — exposing it to the American TV market that the 2024 T20 World Cup began reaching.