KOLKATA: An American cricket promoter of Pakistani-origin says India’s first official match on US soil will provide the leg-up the game needs to stoke fan interest in the country.

“India’s debut on Saturday is bound to raise awareness about cricket [in America],” Mahammad A. Qureshi was quoted by The Telegraph newspaper of Kolkata as saying.

“Frankly, [it would] also give a boost to the US Open I organise annually,” Qureshi, whose roots are in Quetta, told the paper referring to a pan-America cricket tournament he promotes.

India is scheduled to play two T20s over the weekend against the West Indies at Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, the only made-for-cricket stadium in the US.

About 15,000 fans are expected to turn up at each of the games at the 20,000-capacity stadium. “The greater Miami area has a sizeable Indian population,” Central Broward security head Andrew Dunbar said.

Three Test playing nations – West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand – have played at Central Broward earlier. Even the recently-concluded Caribbean Premier League held a few matches at this ground.

“But there’s something different about this buzz,” said Dunbar, who had also overseen security arrangements at the facility during the previous games.

Qureshi, CEO of Cricket Council USA Inc – a Florida-based sports management company that works with the ICC to organise cricket at Central Broward – feels “India’s entry is the big impact-maker”.

Even the governing body of the sport in the country, the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), echoes Qureshi’s sentiments.

In an interview to Sun Sentinel, the largest circulated daily in the state of Florida, USACA board member Rizwan Mohammed described India as the “rock star of cricket”.

In recent times, MS Dhoni’s team has had a great streak in the shortest format of the game, beating Australia 3-0 in Australia and following it up with a 2-1 win against Sri Lanka at home. It then claimed the Asia Cup in Dhaka, and reached the semi-finals of the World T20 a few weeks later.

Dhoni also led an Indian squad, comprising “probables” primarily from the India-A side, to Zimbabwe in June after the World Cup, and won the T20s 2-1 after whitewashing the hosts in the ODIs.

All this could mean a near-full house at Central Broward over the weekend, which should spell good news for Qureshi, who organises an ICC-sanctioned domestic T20 tournament called the US Open, where Chris Gayle has played in the past.

“I get my own companies to sponsor, and really, I do it for charity,” he told The Telegraph. This year, the total prize money on offer is $100,000.

Incidentally, Qureshi also helped the Pakistan Cricket Board organise a practice match for its women’s team against the US XI at Central Broward last November, which the Sana Mir-led team won 2-0.

Meanwhile, reports said interest is also high among the local West Indian population, expected to turn out in good numbers to cheer the T20 world champions.

As West Indies coach Phil Simmons told reporters, “India are always going to be the team in the world to beat in T20 cricket because they have commanded the format for a long period.”

All in all, good news for Qureshi, who also owns a cricket-specific TV channel apart from other businesses.