The USA may not exactly be the biggest name in international cricket; however,
American communities are no stranger to the second most popular sport in the world. More and more cities throughout the United States have been developing local cricket leagues; in that sense, the newly founded Cricket Club is more timely than ever. The club engages in light, enjoyable cricket-related activities in its meetings.
“The SLHS Cricket Club would usually play matches or hold cricket games in our meetings,” junior and club treasurer Ibrahim Mujawar said. “However, due to weather conditions and how hot it is outside we’ve resorted to staying inside and either watching highlights of a match, playing kahoots, or finding an area indoors where we can practice bowling or throwing a ball.”
Despite the fact that cricket is played at a competitive level both locally and internationally, the cricket club aims to create an open experience for its members to enjoy cricket in a casual way.
“The founders–which include Arya Gandavadi, Divyesh Suraparaju, Uvanuv Vishnu, Ashwin Rajendiran, Aditya Ayyappan, and I–all shared a similar vision of providing an inclusive space where anyone can come play cricket and express their love for the sport,” Mujawar said. “Whether an individual is very good at the sport and well versed about how it works, or someone who’s just a beginner and is interested in the sport; we wanted to provide a place where anyone can just come and enjoy the sport of cricket.”
The cricket club, which has already accumulated over fifty members in its first year, evidently has a large appeal in Seven Lakes.
“We believe that this club will have a large audience at our school because it is the second most popular sport in the world, with a following of approximately 2.5 billion,” club organizer Ashwin Rajendiran said. “Also, there are many students that originate from countries where cricket is a major sport.”
While the main focus of the club is cricket, the founders of the club also intended to create an outlet for people to express themselves, be social, and unwind physically and mentally after a long, exhausting day.
“Even if it may sound a little corny, I really do enjoy watching everyone be happy in our club,” Mujawar said. “As students of such a prestigious and competitive high school, everyone can understand how hard times can get and the toll they can take on your mental health and mood; just seeing all the members have fun and positively interact with one another was amazing and it felt really nice as an officer that I was somehow able to provide a little joy to our members. It was also quite amazing how quickly the cricket club members became friends and it really garnered a sense of community.”
