By Maya Gayler

World-renowned cricket players opened the National Cricket League (NCL) season, debuting its 19-match Sixty Strikes Tournament on Oct. 4, with a match between the Dallas Lonestars and Texas Gladiators at the UT Dallas Cricket Stadium. Bollywood sensation Mika Singh gave a special performance following the match. 

Cricket fanatics of all ages cheered on their favorite Indo-Pak players including the Gladiators’ team captain, Shahid Afridi and the Lonestars’ wicketkeeper, Dinesh Karthik. It was the Pakistani cricketing legend Afridi who thrilled the audience by leading his team to victory, with a final score of 140-98, in the first round of the tournament.

42-year-old Mohsin Warraich, from Pakistan, brought his family to enjoy the game he grew up playing. Warraich says he played first-class cricket when he lived in Washington state. 

“We are excited to see the international match in our university,” said Warraich, who is pursuing a Master’s in cybersecurity from UT Dallas. “We love to see our Pakistani players, Indians and other English fellows.” 

Nathaniel Thomas, 24, a Ph.D student at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) was excited to see a professional game in person for the first time. 

“I grew up in the United States so I have a lot of connection to it with my family, and I enjoy watching it on TV,” said Thomas. “I think it’s a nice opportunity to meet people and to connect with others.” 

Veepsa Bhati, 45, attended the match with her husband and daughter. Bhati says as someone who comes from India,  a “cricketing nation” she enjoys teaching her children how to play. 

“We are excited that cricket is coming to Texas and the US,” said Bhati, who is a professor at another local higher education institution, Southern Methodist University. “We grow up watching cricket, we idolize the players, we love the game and the passion keeps going, so we want to stay connected.” 

To highlight Indian tradition and culture, the Shivam Dhol Tasha Pathak SPDFW drummers were invited to play an ancient beat, once used before engaging in war it is now deployed to pump up athletes before sports games. 

“Being an Indian, Cricket is close to our heart,” said SPDFW Co-Founder, Harish Nehate. “The game attracts a diverse audience who are now learning about the art and culture, it’s spreading across the globe.” 

The NCL’s innovative 60 strikes format has been fully endorsed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The NCL unveiled its ground-breaking stadium at UTD, the day before the tournament. Designed with solar power and a zero-waste policy, the stadium exemplifies the NCL’s goal of becoming fully environmentally friendly by 2030, through its partnership with SEE Holdings, a Dubai-based leader in sustainability. 

“Our mission is not only to promote the sport of cricket but to make a positive impact on the communities we touch,” said Arun Agarwal, NCL Chairman. “This stadium shows that vision. It represents the merging of sports and sustainability, as we aim to give back to the community and the environment.”

Each night of the tournament will feature a unique theme, offering a festival-like experience for attendees, starting with Domestic Violence Awareness Night on 5 Oct, which is also  DV Awareness Month. 

On Saturday Oct., the New York Lions and LA Whalers will face-off at 10 a.m., followed by the Atlanta Kings versus the Chicago Cricket Club at 12:30 p.m. For the complete game schedule and more information, fans can download the NCL Cricket app or visit NCLCricket.com.

This season, NCL will bring cricket legends known worldwide—Sunil Gavaskar, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sir Vivian

Richards, Venkatesh Prasad, Sanath Jayasuriya, Moin Khan, and Blair Franklin. The cricketing heroes will mentor and coach the next generation of players.

The league will also feature top-tier players from around the world, including Shahid Afridi, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, Robin Uthappa, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chris Lynn, Angelo Mathews, Colin Munro, Sam Billings, Mohammad Nabi, Johnson Charles.

With its partnership with Sports Illustrated and broadcasting through ESPN, Sony Max, SKY, WFAA, NDTV, Fox Sports, and the NCL Cricket app. The NCL is bringing cricket to over 2.5 billion fans worldwide. As one of the most-watched sports globally, cricket’s footprint in the U.S. is growing at a fast pace, with the NCL at the forefront.