Ahead of the fourth T20I against West Indies, some of India’s star cricketers present on the tour talked about the first thing that popped into their minds when they hear the name of the United States of America (USA). India will take on West Indies in the fourth T20I in Florida, US on Saturday. India made a comeback in the last match, winning it by seven wickets to keep the series alive with the scoreline at 2-1. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video on their Twitter in which players talked about the words and ideas they associate with the USA.
Hardik Pandya associated the word dream with the USA, a place millions of people all over the world dream of coming to and living the ‘American Dream’ by attaining success and money in the country, irrespective of their class, religion, gender, caste etc. “US? I think a lot of people’s dream,” said Pandya. The things/ideas that strike pacer Arshdeep Singh’s mind are “Miami, Shopping.” “Gujarati,” said Axar Patel as he was asked what pops into his mind first when he hears the name USA. “I think the lifestyle…,” said the young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal.
USA reminds spinner Yuzvendra Chahal of the action-adventure video game series, Grand Theft Auto (GTA). A lot of games of the GTA series are based in fictional cities in the USA. “GTA. I play GTA so that is what comes into my mind,” he said. Kuldeep Yadav, the spinner said that he is reminded of Lionel Messi when he hears the word USA. “Wherever he will go, his fans will follow. I am one of them, a lot of players in the team are his fans,” he added. Messi recently made a move to the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, which is a football league in the USA. Star batter Suryakumar Yadav is reminded of “Ice cream and my favourite, cheesecake,” when he hears the word USA. “Cannot eat it now though,” quipped Surya.
The first thing that pops into Ishan Kishan’s mind on hearing the word the USA is “humidity, heat”. “I want to stay away from them,” he remarked.
Batter Shubman Gill is reminded of his relatives when he hears the word USA. “I am a Punjabi, a lot of my relatives are here. So this is the first thing that comes into my mind,” he said. Avesh Khan also reminisced on winning his first Man of the Match award in the USA last year. “My first MOTM was here last year on this ground,” he said, having won the award for taking 2/17 against West Indies last year at the same venue.
West Indies Squad: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran(w), Rovman Powell(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, Odean Smith, Shai Hope, Jason Holder
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Sanju Samson(w), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan, Avesh Khan.