Baseball Similarity To Cricket Might Help Sport Grow In India

India is potentially a big market for any sport. After La Liga seeking commercial success in the country following the routemap of the Premier League, Major League Baseball (MLB) is looking to set its foot in India. MLB has set up its office in New Delhi to focus on the growth of the country and engage fans.

Baseball is taking major inspiration from cricket due to quite a few similarities. The MLB team in expecting the sport to be success in the country due to the similarity. Ryo Takahashi believes that the aspects of catching, throwing and swing of the bat is similar and comes naturally, thus the sport should be good to go.

“Cricket is such a big sport here. So catching, throwing and swing of the bat come very naturally,” Ryo Takahashi, who heads MLB’s business and commercial operations in India, told Reuters.

“The sheer size of this country, the population — to be able to hook India to baseball, that definitely boosts the sport worldwide.”

According to the report, Takahashi said it would be premature to bring games in India, where MLB has attracted more than 30,000 school students in 320 workshops since opening its office.

The league also plans to revive ‘Million Dollar Arm’, a contest that began as a reality television show and inspired a 2014 Hollywood movie.

Takahashi said the contest, which drew thousands of aspiring pitchers competing to earn a tryout with a Major League team, would now be an annual affair, the report added.