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Pushing cricket in Chicago

Nitish S Rele

Abdul Khan was desolate after he left his native Karachi and moved to the United States -- he could not play cricket in a land that worships baseball and football.

Or couldn't he?

Khan decided that he could do something to correct the situation. So he started a cricket club in the Chicago area where he lives and opened a store that sells cricketing goods.

First, more about his Elgin Cricket Club in the Chicago, Illinois area:

"Those days, we used to play this gentleman's game in parking lots," Khan, who works as a plant manager in the Chicago area, told rediff.com .

"I used to play cricket back home and had always wanted to use my experience and expertise in some way."

Khan, 46, formed the Elgin Cricket Club in 1995 and even found a sports complex where it could play. Today, he sponsors cricket matches every Saturday and Sunday though the city is planning to demolish the site.

"I am asking the city to give me some land to play cricket," he says. "My dream is to build a cricket stadium where I can host teams from all over the world."

How does he get locals, especially the Americans, involved in cricket?

"The first step is at the school district level," he said. "Write a letter to the school district, contact the superintendent and slowly introduce or show your cricket equipment to the appropriate officials."

The other way he can push the game is through his store, RK Sports USA, which Khan opened in 1997. He sells cricket equipment from Pakistan and England from his showroom in Elgin.

"I am now looking to start selling cricketing equipment from India," he said. "There are no sports store here in the Chicago area that sell cricket but I have been urging the ethnic grocery stores to keep my equipment too."

In 1998, Khan opened a web site, www.rksportsusa.com. If one was getting the impression that Khan is obsessed with cricket, it must be added that he also specialises in custom-design carrom boards.

There are about 35-40 cricket teams in the Chicago area, consisting mostly of Indians and Pakistanis. More than 500 people attended a 25-30 overs match hosted by the Elgin Cricket Club during the Fourth of July weekend.

"Last year, our cricket club had only 10 members," he said. "Now, we have 60. At the moment, we are working to become more disciplined and to play better cricket."

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