Netizens term US Under-19 cricket squad ‘India B team’ – Here’s why

Geetika Kodali is the captain of the US team and former West Indies player Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be the lead coach.

• Pramod Thomas
• 16 December, 2022

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By: Pramod Thomas

Netizens are amused to see the US women’s under-19 cricket Squad for the ICC women’s T20 world cup as majority of the players are of Indian-origin.

The announcement of the team evoked hilarious response from social media users as many called the US team as ‘India B team’.

Geetika Kodali is the captain of the US team and former West Indies player Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be the lead coach.

Anika Kolan named as vice captain of the 15-player squad which includes five non-traveling reserves which include Chetnaa Prasad, Kasturi Vedantham, Lisa Ramjit, Mitali Patwardhan, and Tya Gonsalves.

The other members include Aditi Chudasama, Bhumika Bhadriraju, Disha Dhingra, Isani Vaghela, Jivana Aras, Laasya Mullapudi, Pooja Ganesh (wk), Pooja Shah, Ritu Singh, Sai Tanmayi Eyyunni, Snigdha Paul, Suhani Thadani, Taranum Chopra.

?MEDIA RELEASE: USA Cricket Women’s U19s Squad for Historic First World Cup Appearance Named

15-player squad to represent Team USA is named for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa next month

➡️: https://t.co/xB789FYppc#WeAreUSACricket?? #U19CWC pic.twitter.com/x6Y00UXrE7

— USA Cricket (@usacricket) December 14, 2022

The tournament will be held in South Africa in January 2023. The US is in Group A which features Australia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

When the cricket team posted the image of the squad on social media platforms, users found it interesting as many players appeared as ‘Indians’.

“USA Cricket Team or India B Team?” asked one user.

“The women’s cricket team in the United States is a more diverse representation of India than the women’s cricket team in India!” said another.

Another commented: “This is like an Indian team,” while another extended “full support” to the team.

According to reports, though Indian-origin the players are born and brought up in the US.

Captain Kodaliis based in California and began playing cricket at 11. She has been training at the Cricket Cricket Zeal Academy in California since 15. Vice-captain Kolan also started playing cricket around nine years.

“Our squad represents a new generation of American cricketers and we’re most excited to see them display their brand of cricket as rising stars announcing themselves on the World stage,” said Nadia Gruny, USA Cricket Board member and women and girls committee chair.