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The former Indian all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh, made a guest appearance on the latest episode of the Good Morning America (GMA) TV show in the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2024. The ICC Ambassador for the coveted tournament went on to reveal how he explains cricket to the American people during GMA, comparing it with baseball.
Notably, the T20 World Cup is set to be played in the USA for the first-time ever, who are hosting the 2024 edition of the tournament alongside the Caribbean Island nations. The first match of the T20 World Cup 2024 will happen at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Saturday, June 1, between the hosts USA and Canada in Group A.
During the Good Morning America TV show, Yuvraj Singh joined the host Michael Anthony Strahan and the famous weathercaster Sam Champion. He went to share his excitement for cricket coming to the USA with the T20 World Cup, and said, as per the Times of India, “Never imagined that cricket would be played in America. It's very exciting. The ICC has built a couple of new stadiums, I would like to see the Americans watching the sport.”
The inaugural T20 World Cup champion from India described his experience of explaining cricket to the American people and remarked, “Every time I meet an American, they ask me 'what's cricket?'. I tell them 'it's like baseball, we just don't run in four quarters, we run straight and back'. The cricket swing and the baseball swing are very similar. It's a similar set-up. In baseball, you can swing at everything. In cricket, you keep your bat down because the ball bounces and comes to you.”
“Once you get in, you can start using your power. When you hit it out of the park, it's called a Home Run in baseball, in cricket, it's called a six,” he added.
Yuvraj Singh also spoke about the importance of time in cricket in comparison to baseball and said, “I think, in baseball, there is less time -- after three strikes, you are out. In cricket, you have got to think probably quicker. In baseball, you have to hit everything straight, in cricket you can hit behind square.”
