Liam Plunkett sparks controversy by equating Virat Kohli, LeBron James with Babar Azam

Former England cricketer Liam Plunkett made a massive statement related to the cricket in United States of America (USA). He believes that India star Virat Kohli and Pakistan premier batter Babar Azam can help cricket grow in the country while comparing NBA and NFL stars.

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are two of the biggest names in the World Cricket. They have a huge fan following and fans are crazy about them. The aura that they have has made cricket popular in even countries, where the sport doesn’t attract much viemany.

One of the countries among them is the United States of America, where cricket isn’t that popular. However, in the last few years, ICC has been putting a lot of effort into making cricket a brand in the country. The newly formed Major League Cricket (MLC) too has been contributing to the cause.

The USA is now all set to host the biggest event of cricket. The T20 World Cup 2024 will be played there along with Carribean. One of the main highlights of the tournament will be the game between India and Pakistan, which will be played in New York.

Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Jasprit Bumrah, and others will be in the action and it will be a proper treat for the fans in the USA. The game is expected to be a blockbuster as it has been over the years and will surely help cricket get popular in the USA.

Liam Plunkett believes that to get tickets for that game will be hard. He stressed how costly tickets are getting sold while speaking to AFP in a video call from Philadelphia, the 2019 World Cup winning pacer said:

“I know it’s hard to get tickets. People are asking me for tickets like I’m Ticketmaster or something. I’ve got nothing to do with it. I’m sure there will be a resale value. People are trying to sell it for $1,500 and people are buying the tickets for that, which is crazy to think.”

‘If you had Babar Azam and Virat Kohli stood next to (NBA star) LeBron James, the queues for the cricketers would be just as long – Liam Plunkett

Liam Plunkett further drew comparisons between Virat Kohli, and Babar Azam to NBA icon LeBron James. He believes that there would be longer queues for cricket if two sports are put together. While highlighting the significance of India vs Pakistan, he stated:

“I said to someone, ‘If you had Babar Azam and Virat Kohli stood next to (NBA star) LeBron James, the queues for the cricketers would be just as long or not longer’. They are so massive around the world.

“People don’t believe that. People in America don’t realize that more people watch India v Pakistan than watch the (NFL) Super Bowl, which is crazy.”

The T20 World Cup 2024 will begin from 1st June. The blockbuster India vs Pakistan game will be played on 9th June. The final of the tournament will be played on 30th June.