Surge in NRI: Different cultural and linguistically diverse participation in Australian cricket witnessed a remarkable increase since the pre-pandemic era.
Recent registration data for the 2023-24 season revealed Singh as the most registered surname, with more than 4K entries.
Surge in NRI …..
Notably, South-Asian surnames like Kumar, Patel, Sharma, and Khan featured prominently among the top 16 out of 494 registered players on Cricket Australia’s Play HQ portal.
This surge in South-Asian participation is attributed in part to Pakistan’s red ball team’s recent tour to Australia, which has contributed to the rising statistics.
Cricket Australia (CA) has been actively pursuing strategies to integrate diverse communities into the sport, exemplified by the Multicultural Action Plan launched in December by Usman Khawaja and Lisa Sthalekar.
In addition to fostering increased participation, CA aims to create welcoming and inclusive environments for multicultural communities attending matches.
The upcoming season promises exciting opportunities for South-Asian communities, with Pakistan’s men’s white ball tour, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, and an ODI series against India’s women’s team.
James Quarmby, CA’s Head of Participation, expressed optimism about the growing involvement of multicultural communities in cricket at all levels, from grassroots to elite.
The hope is that the surge in registrations will translate into larger attendances at matches featuring Pakistan and India, further affirming cricket as a sport for all Australians.
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