The second most popular sport in the world is cementing its presence in North Texas.
The National Cricket League will soon host some of the sport's biggest names at its new home on the University of Texas at Dallas campus.
Construction is underway on the NCL’s new home stadium at the corner of University Parkway and Campbell Road in Richardson.
The league’s leaders gathered Tuesday morning at UTD to rally excitement among students, allowing students to practice the bat and ball game with renowned NCL coach Moshin Khan.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
The campus has a large Indian-American student population.
UTD senior Rhasheree Biswas says she grew up watching the sport with her family and was ecstatic to hear the news screaming, “Yes! Yes! Cricket in the USA! Finally! UTD!”
The league’s leaders assembled near the student union to announce a 10-day inaugural cricket tournament.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The Sixty Strikes Tournament runs on the UTD campus from Oct. 4 until Oct. 14.
“Really happy to be in Dallas bringing international cricket to the venue,” said NCL Tournament Director Jason Harper. “First university in North America to host an event of this nature.”
The tournament will feature six U.S. professional teams and some of the sport’s most legendary figures, notably Sir Viv Richards, who will participate as a mentor/coach.
“He’s compared to Michael Jordan in cricket around the world,” said NCL CEO Azhar Qasmi.
Arun Agarwal, Charman of the NCL, said the tournament will be like nothing North Texas has seen before.
“I make it very simple. I call Coachella meets Cricket,” said Agarwal. “You’ll have entertainment. Every day will be like a Super Bowl. It will be a phenomenal, phenomenal experience.”
Approximately 4,000 seats will soon be installed on the grassy field for the tournament.
The venue will be the NCL’s permanent home field in North Texas.
Leaders anticipate 4,000 fans each day of the tournament, people from around the country and the world.
“We have booked buses, we have about 300 hotels booked in Dallas,” said Qasmi. “We’re expecting 4,000 people daily spending money on drinks, food, bringing economic to Dallas on a next level.”
Biswas is sure fans will fill the stands. She can’t wait to be one of them.
“I’m pretty hopeful it’s going to be a super packed stadium,” she said.
October's Sixty Strikes Tournament tickets are on sale now on the National Cricket League's website.
Each night of the tournament will feature a theme, hoping to attract a wider audience.
For more information, click here.
