THE cheapest Pakistan vs India ticket on the reseller website StubHub was $693, and the most expensive was $3,236. While America is not a cricketing country, a private suite for the World Cup final costs $12,488 per ticket, which is still less than the astounding $104,062 per ticket which comes under Zone Worrell Weeks Wolcott Premium. With a capacity of roughly 6,000 seats, ticketing is big business for the world cup, but it`s just a part of the pie that consists of media rights, sponsors, event hosting, merchandising and tickets.

The Indian diaspora is the US hasplayed a major role in introducing cricket to the country on a grand scale.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen are among the executives investing nearly $1bn in the new US professional league, Major League Cricket. The six teams in the US are expected to spend roughly $75m-$100m over the coming years, which includes building stadiums.

Perhaps Pakistan`s shameful defeat against the US (Al Jazeera ranked it as the biggest upset in T20 World Cup history) sets the ground for America to become a cricket giant in its own right. •