‘We need the whole system in place’ – USA all-rounder Harmeet Singh on preparing for T20 World Cup 2026

USA cricket Team. (Photo Source: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

USA stood tall in the initial stage of the T20 World Cup 2024, especially after beating Pakistan, and deservingly progressed to the Super 8 round with India from Group A. However, things didn’t go well for them in this round and their World Cup is over with back-to-back defeats in the hands of South Africa, West Indies, and England. Talking around the same, USA all-rounder Harmeet Singh spoke about how their preparation for the next edition of the T20 World Cup should begin right now.

The USA has already qualified for the 2026 edition and Harmeet feels that for them to do well there, they need to improve their outdoor infrastructure a lot. He believes that trainers should consistently work with their team throughout the year, even if that happens remotely. The USA need a lot more infrastructure to become a proper cricket-playing nation, reckons the USA all-rounder.

“For the whole group, we just need infrastructure to practice better, to train better. We need the whole system in place. Trainers need to be able to work with us all year even if remotely. If you see England, Australia, all the destinations, they have incredible infrastructure in every state. Being indoors doesn’t help. We need a lot more outdoor set-ups, need good training facilities,” said Harmeet Singh as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“Stadiums are coming up, but the short-term goal should be building a lot of infrastructure for guys to be able to train so that the whole grassroot [cricketers get to train better] and our bench strength also builds with that. Playing franchise cricket will help, but it will help four, five, six guys who might play, but to build a cricket-playing nation, we need a lot more infrastructure,” he added.

USA’s latest defeat came against England where they lost the clash by 10 wickets and the defending champions moved their way up to the semi-final.