Washington Freedom was a no-brainer of an investment: Sanjay Govil

Indian American entrepreneur gung-ho about the future of cricket in the US

Sanjay Govil has finally got what the Indian American entrepreneur had been dreaming about since leaving India where cricket was a religion — to bring South Asians’ favorite game to his new homeland.

In fact, Govil, who owns Washington Freedom, the American capital’s very own first ever professional cricket team competing in the ongoing inaugural edition of Major League Cricket (MLC), thinks the US has been late in bringing cricket and its popular T20 format to its shores.

“But I am very excited that it’s finally here,” says the founder of Infinite Computer Solutions, leading information, and technology company based in Maryland, and Zyter, a leading digital health, and IoT-enablement platform.

READ: Sanjay Govil brings professional cricket to Washington (March 20, 2023)

For the businessman hailing from Delhi, forming an MLC cricket team “was a no-brainer of an investment,” Govil told the American Bazaar in an interview noting the game has a fanbase of 2.5 billion people worldwide and “there’s a ready-made audience and hunger and passion for the sport in America.”

Govil, who is credited with founding Infinite with only a $1,000 investment in 1999, is quite gung-ho about the future of cricket in America despite the presence of four major leagues— NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL — that corner all the television money.

“The amount of enthusiasm there is among people for cricket here is incredible. I think it’s just the beginning,” says Govil who was at the state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 22 where Modi also mentioned cricket in his speech.

“Believe it or not, one of the main topics of discussion at the dinner was cricket, MLC, and team ownership. It was front and center for everybody,” he said. “Also, America puts its might and muscle into everything it does. I have no doubt cricket is going to be any different.”

Here is the complete transcript of the interview. It has been lightly edited for clarity:

AB: What are the reasons for investing in an MLC team?

SG: For me, growing up in India, cricket was a religion. The game has a fanbase of 2.5 billion people worldwide. Nowadays, I don’t have to explain what cricket is to anybody in America.

There’s a ready-made audience and hunger and passion for the sport in this country. So, it was a no-brainer of an investment. And, on the other hand, I will say I’m very, very fortunate to be part of the Washington Freedom team.

AB: There has been talk of cricket becoming a major sport in the US for quite some time now. What do you think are the prospects of Major League Cricket?

SG: I think, in my opinion, we’re late in bringing cricket — and Major League Cricket and T20 tournament — to the US, but I am very excited that it’s finally here.

I give a lot of credit to the founders of [MLC]. I also want to thank the ICC [International Cricket Council] for ensuring that the right institution is here, in terms of promoting Cricket. It’s been a journey, with a lot of steps to get here. I think the future is really, really bright in terms of growing cricket in America.

READ: Major League Cricket brings T20 competition to America (July 14, 2023)

AB: Obviously, you put your money where your mouth is. There are four major leagues here — NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL — that suck all the oxygen in terms of television money. Do you think there is space for cricket in America?

SG: Absolutely! As you know, America is a vast country with more than 300 million people. Not all 300 million watch one sport. In fact, if I take those leagues that you mentioned — and obviously a lot of smaller leagues are also there, and other sports such as golf and tennis — it doesn’t add to 300 million.

So, our goal is to go after the cricket-loving people in America, who are already exposed to cricket. There are a lot of people who have heard of cricket because of their interactions with India.

There are also a lot of impetuses that are happening in America. One, if cricket is part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, obviously, there’s going to be a big thrust for America to grow the cricketing infrastructure.

Number two is the T20 World Cup that the West Indies and the US are co-hosting next year. The third thing is that there are a lot of cricket academies in the US and a lot of kids now coming up the ranks.

Whenever I travel within the US, I’ve been doing random searches on Google for every city. The amount of cricket played in each one of those cities is just amazing.

When I go for matches abroad — for World Cup and other matches — I’m pleasantly surprised to see the number of people who are from the Indian diaspora who are visiting there for those matches. So, I am very excited about MLC.

READ: Major League Cricket makes Viacom18 media partner in India (July 10, 2023)

AB: You were at the state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 22. In fact, the prime minister did mention cricket in his speech. 

SG: Believe it or not, one of the main topics of discussion at the dinner was cricket, MLC, and team ownership. It was front and center for everybody.

When Prime Minister Modi mentioned cricket, I don’t know if you heard the clapping [on television] — that was me! And President Biden was looking at me. The amount of enthusiasm there is among people for cricket here is incredible. I think it’s just the beginning.

Also, America puts its might and muscle into everything it does. I have no doubt cricket is going to be any different. This is our first year and you’re already hearing a lot of rumblings, in terms of actions that other boards are taking, because they really see MLC as a threat.

AB: Speaking of other boards, I understand that some of the boards have not been very helpful, as they refused to release players to MLC. What’s your take on that?

SG: Each board has its own policy, and I respect their policies. We are happy with the players we have from whatever boards we have the players from. I think we have some really good talent and so we’re excited about that.

READ: Indian American business leaders boost American cricket (May 20, 2022)

AB: What are the chances of Washington Freedom this season? You have as bowling coach arguably the greatest right-arm fast bowler in cricket history, Dale Steyn. What do you think are the prospects of Freedom?

SG: As you know, we are competing against teams that have been in professional leagues for many, many years. If I look at the Kolkata Knight Riders, if I look at the Mumbai Indians, if I look at the Chennai Super Kings, if I look at the other teams in MLC, they have been doing this for many, many years.

This is like second nature to them. We are a new kid on the block and, obviously, it’s gonna be very, very challenging for us.

However, we have a great partnership with Cricket New South Wales. We also have an excellent coaching staff, with the likes of, as you mentioned, Dale Steyn. Greg Shepherd, our head coach, has coached in the IPL; he has coached in the [Australian] Big Bash.

We feel that we have a good team. I want to be competitive and that’s my main goal. I don’t want to be on the field and just get blown away, which I don’t think is going to happen.

I think the team has done a super job in getting us to where we are. I believe that next year is going to be even better because we have a whole year to take off.

AB: You have been a proud Washingtonian for a long time. How does it feel to own a sports team that represents the nation’s capital? Do you envision Washington Freedom becoming a household name here, like the teams like NFL’s Commanders, MLB’s Nationals, NBA’s Wizards, and NHL’s Capitals?

SG: It’s going to be some time before that happens. Obviously, we won’t have the same visibility the Nationals or the Commanders or the Wizards have in the foreseeable future but we will definitely make our own mark.

And that’s the goal. We have modest expectations, but, at the same time, we want to succeed big time. And we will just keep doing what we are supposed to do and the results and the rewards will follow.

READ: Cricket is on a fast track in America: Tom Dunmore (September 20, 2021)

AB: Rooting for the team from the honors walks at every game or how many matches are you going for?

SG: I’m going for all the Washington games. My goal is to make sure that the team is motivated. We put the best product we have. Winning and losing depends on a lot of factors. For me, the success of the league is paramount. If the league does well, all teams will do well, and if all teams do well, the Washington Freedom will also do well.

That’s my take. Everything we have done this year as owners we have been together. We’ve really helped each other. We’ve been having calls every week, for the last year and a half to two years. We are all just very, very close.

We have our agreements, and we have our disagreements, but we’re still all very close, and that’s the beauty of our relationship. We’re all in together, we all want to succeed. We want the league to succeed. So far nobody has broken ranks, which is very, very nice when the league gets created.

AB: You are a cricket enthusiast; you have played cricket at the local level. Do you give any input on team selection?

SG: No chance! I have a very good coaching and support staff from New South Wales and other parts of the world. In addition to a super coaching staff, we have a physiotherapist, who was with the Indian cricket team for over 10 years.

Right from the draft, we were there to provide moral support. I always let the decision-making be with the team, because it’s very important.

Most of the coaching staff, they’ve all worked with each other before. So, there’s a good gel there. I just want to go in there and motivate the team. Let the people who are the experts run the team.

Read: Satya Nadella forms Seattle’s new professional cricket team (March 17, 2023)

AB: The Washington Freedom has entered into a partnership with George Mason University to build a stadium. Can you tell us more about it?

SG: We’re really excited that we have a partnership with GMU to build a stadium. I cannot tell you how fortunate and how lucky we are to have GMU as a partner. The whole GMU, right from President Dr. [Gregory] Washington, to [Executive Vice President Dr. Ken] Walsh and Assistant Vice President Tobi Walsh, and the GMU Foundation, everybody has been the most supportive in what we’re doing.

There’s a huge contingent from GMU that is coming to watch the match. They’re hosting a bunch of events. So, we’re just very, very excited about what is going on.

The plan is to have the stadium in place by 2025. We’ve already identified the land in Fairfax County 20 miles away from the nation’s capital. We’ve already done the feasibility studies. We are lucky to have a huge cricket-playing diaspora in the DMV [District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia] area.

AB: What will be the capacity of the stadium?

SG: We are looking at a capacity of around 10,000. That’s the initial plan. But as we start getting to the drawing board — which we should do after the tournament. I think the excitement will start.

AB: You are not new to sports team ownership. You once owned a badminton team in the Indian Premier Badminton League, the Delhi Acers.

SG: Badminton was just something that I just stumbled into and then quickly exited because I didn’t see the long-term vision and goal.