Beautiful game of cricket to further ties with South Asia: Rich Verma

By Arun Kumar

Indian American official keynoted the “Evening with Legends” event, hosted by the American Bazaar, to welcome three stars of Sri Lanka’s1996 World Cup-winning team

As the United States co-hosts for the very first time the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup, a top Indian American official hopes growth of this “beautiful game” in the US would further its ties with South Asia.

“I know together we will continue to grow this beautiful game in the United States and further the ties between our nations and the people of South Asia,” said Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, at a June 4 event. “So may we continue to deepen our partnerships through sports and work hand in hand to effect tangible benefits to communities here and around the world.”

Verma, who served as the first Indian American ambassador in India, was delivering the keynote address at the “Evening with Legends” event, hosted by the American Bazaar, featuring former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga and two of his teammates who were part of the 1996 World Cup-winning team.

The event was co-hosted by the Richmond, Virginia-based philanthropy advisor Venky Raghavendra, in partnership with the Janki Ganju Foundation and DesiMax.

About 150 people, among them cricket enthusiasts from the Washington, DC, area, officials from the Department of State, and prominent members of the South Asian American diaspora, attended the event.

READ: Sri Lankan cricket greats Ranatunga, Gurusinha and Tillakaratne to raise awareness about education at June 4 Washington event

Aziz Haniffa, Editor of DesiMax, moderated a fireside chat with the three players. Haniffa and Asif Ismail, founder and publisher of American Bazaar, DesiMax, which was formally launched before the event.

A part of the proceeds of the event will go toward a nonprofit founded by Ranatunga, who also served as a Sri Lankan federal minister on multiple occasions.

The event was part of a multi-city tour of the US and Canada by the cricketers, during which they aim to raise awareness about empowering Sri Lankan youth through education and creating opportunities for their success.

“It’s also a special month here in the United States as we are co-hosting for the very first time this year’s men’s T20 World Cup,” Verma noted. “Great recognition that our country is starting to embrace cricket, a sport beloved in so many countries around the world.”

“Now, having the US host a Cricket World Cup would have seemed unimaginable just 10 or 15 years ago, yet today more and more Americans are interested in the game,” he said.

“Major League Cricket is flourishing in the United States, and USA Cricket continues its instrumental work in supporting our national players and equipping youth and local communities with the tools they need to succeed in the sport,” noted Verma. “ All in all, we are in the midst of a thrilling innings that show no sign of coming to a close.”

“Now, the next several years are going to be really instrumental in sports,” he said noting, “Following this year’s T20 World Cup, we have the FIFA World Cup here in 2026 for those of you that follow soccer, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where cricket will officially become an Olympic sport.”

Verma recalled that he “had the opportunity to swing a cricket bat over the years during my childhood, while serving as ambassador to India, and during some of my official travels in my current role as deputy secretary.”

“And though my batting totals may not reflect much skill at this game, they do reflect my appreciation for the skill it takes to play this game and the spirit of sports in general and how sports can bring us together,” he said. I’ve played sports my entire life—baseball, ice hockey, football—and find that they are one of life’s best teachers.”

“The trials and tribulations that athletes undergo in training and matches, the work outside—I learned more from playing on sports teams about teamwork, about supporting one another, about endurance, about failure,” Verma said noting. “I still am in touch with my high school coaches to this day.”

“Sports and sports diplomacy we really, really value,” Verma said. “And again, the three icons we have here from Sri Lanka, the miracle in 1996, that squad—they know the challenges well and also know well the spirit all champions have when they have overcome all tests and opponents to emerge victorious.”

“It is because of their resilience, their leadership, vision, patience, and selflessness that Sri Lanka was able to bag the ultimate prize for their nation for the very first time,” he said.

Sri Lanka won the 1996 Cricket World Cup defeating Australia by seven wickets in the final on March 17, 1996 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan.

“So just as in the State Department, we send our very best envoys abroad—leaders like Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung—to represent the best of the United States to the world, so too do we and other nations send our best athletes, heroes for so many in our countries, abroad to represent our countries, our people, our sports, and our citizens,” Verma said.

Verma, who visited Sri Lanka back in February “to visit our workforce at our embassy in Colombo and deepen our cooperation across several sectors,” said, “I also very clearly saw how important sports are to our bilateral relationship and bringing our people closer together.”

“So it’s in this spirit of friendly diplomatic and sporting relations that I am so thrilled again to be here to welcome these three great stars who have been catalytic in building camaraderie across South Asia and beyond,” he said.

Verma also thanked the attendees at “such an important event,” current and former State Department officials and “all of our people that work in civil society supporting South Asia in all that you do.”

“All of the stories assembled here are fantastic, and we’re grateful for what you’ve done and that you come together for such an event like this,” he concluded.