Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting has suggested that administrators should consider rebranding the sport as ‘T20’ to attract a larger audience in the United States. Ponting believes the word ‘cricket’ can make people in emerging markets associate the sport with lengthy Test matches rather than the fast-paced and entertainment-driven T20 format.
Speaking to The Athletic, Ricky Ponting admitted that he is a traditionalist who played significantly more Test cricket than T20 cricket during his career. However, he said he would support a rebranding strategy if it helped introduce the sport to a completely new audience in the US.
“If I was bringing it here wholly and solely to sell and promote the game, I wouldn’t call it cricket. It’d just be rebranded as T20 only. Leave the cricket thing aside,” Ricky Ponting said.
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The former Australia captain explained that people unfamiliar with the sport may immediately think of a five-day Test match when they hear the word cricket. He believes presenting T20 as a separate, modern sporting product could make it easier for American audiences to understand and enjoy.
“I would compare it to baseball as much as I could and give kids that chance to understand you’re hitting 15 sixes per game in a game of T20 cricket, but you are hitting less than one home run a game in the game of baseball,” he added.
🚨 MOHAMMED SHAMI TO BE FELICITATED BEFORE HIS 100TH FIRST-CLASS MATCH!
― CAB will honour Shami ahead of his 100th first-class appearance. He has 382 wickets in 99 matches and will receive a special No. 100 jersey, a signed ball by Sourav Ganguly and a silver salver. pic.twitter.com/372y2FlT2Y
— Puneet Awasthi (@PuneetA77622712) September 5, 2026
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has identified the US as a major market for cricket’s global expansion. American sports are largely dominated by baseball, American football, basketball and, increasingly, soccer, making it a challenging but potentially lucrative market for cricket.
Cricket currently has a strong following among Asian, European and African expatriate communities in the US. However, the ICC has been working to expand the sport’s appeal among local audiences.
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The successful 2024 T20 World Cup in the US, the growth of Major League Cricket and preparations for cricket’s return at the LA 2028 Olympics are key parts of that strategy. Ponting is also involved in Major League Cricket as a coach of Washington Freedom. With T20 offering a shorter and more action-packed format, Ponting believes it could provide cricket with the best opportunity to establish a lasting presence in the American sporting landscape.
