Rising American Cricketer Sanjay Krishnamurthi Set To Be Homegrown Hero For San Francisco

Three years ago, Sanjay Krishnamurthi was high in the terraces of the iconic Coliseum amid a rabid Athletics fanbase soaking in MLB action with the stunning Oakland Hills in the background.

Back then the starry-eyed teenager was in the very early stages of being a professional cricketer having made his international debut for the U.S. in an One-Day International against Oman in September 2021.

However, the febrile atmosphere left Krishnamurthi feeling somewhat melancholy as he dreamt of playing cricket, a global bat and ball sport but relatively invisible in the congested sports market of the U.S, in such surroundings.

“I remember thinking if only cricket can get to this level in the U.S. that would be amazing,” Krishnamurthi told me in an interview.

On Thursday, the recently turned 22-year-old Krishnamurthi will step onto the hallowed Coliseum turf as a member of San Francisco Unicorns in the much-hyped Major League Cricket’s season launch against defending champions Washington Freedom.

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After the MLC’s first two seasons were consigned to Dallas and Morrisville, North Carolina, the match represents Unicorns’ first official home game with more than 12,000 fans expected to attend.

Playing at such a treasured site is considered a game-changer for the well-heeled MLC and cricket’s exposure in the U.S. It is currently only a one-season arrangement with the Coliseum to host three home Unicorns games and nine overall.

But the development made a widespread splash with the announcement widely reported, including in The New York Times, Axios and mainstream media in the Bay Area.

“The Coliseum has such a rich history and to think that we’re playing there is really cool,” said Krishnamurthi, who will be playing his second season of MLC. “I’m so excited to be playing in front of home fans and also my friends and family.”

There are big dreams for cricket in the U.S, with the sport to end its 128-year Olympic drought at the Los Angeles Games. But the initial steps have been rather modest.

The long-awaited arrival of MLC, along with hosting big events such as last year’s T20 World Cup and playing at the Coliseum, has hoped to introduce the sport to those who only know cricket as a pesky insect or confuse it for that other rather quaint well-to-do British sport – croquet.

“I told my eye doctor recently that I’m playing in a cricket tournament and she said ‘I heard they are playing at the Oakland Coliseum’,” Krishnamurthi said. “She’s East Asian, so you wouldn’t expect her to have heard of cricket. I think that was pretty cool.

“One of my friends saw my face on some Unicorns branding selling rice at a grocery store,” he added with a chuckle. “So people start seeing that around and that just means awareness is growing.”

While MLC has been able to reel in top players from powerhouse cricket nations such as Australia and England, giving it heft and pizzazz amid a saturated cricket circuit, its ultimate success in the U.S. will be determined by creating hometown heroes.

Hard-hitting, spinning allrounder Krishnamurthi fits the bill having been passed on the love of cricket from his India-born father. While his schoolmates were more interested in shooting hoops, throwing a football or pitching, Arizona-raised Krishnamurthi was obsessed with cricket and his skills developed quickly after he moved to India with his parents as an eight-year-old.

Krishnamurthi eventually returned to the U.S. seeking greater playing opportunities and also to study computer science at San Jose State University, where most of his classmates are seemingly oblivious that they hit the books with an international cricketer.

“I think most of my classmates have no idea,” Krishnamurthi laughed. “But after last MLC, the university posted a pretty nice article on me on their main page.

“I think that gave me a little bit of attention within the university, but yeah…still pretty anonymous.”

While he eyes batting in the top-order, Krishnamurthi is making his mark for the U.S. in international cricket at No.7 in the finisher role. In what is arguably the hardest role in the batting-order in white-ball cricket, Krishnamurthi’s power-hitting and ability to clear the boundaries makes him a natural.

He posted his first international half-century in last month’s ODI against Canada in Lauderhill, Florida, followed by an unbeaten 40 off 27 against Oman marked by a trio of huge sixes.

“Last winter I went to India and I did a lot of work on my power hitting,” Krishnamurthi said. “I’m embracing it. I do feel like I have that power element in my game that I can come down the order and that’s what they (the U.S. hierarchy) see in me.

“But I’m hoping to eventually bat up the order and get to face a few more balls.”

Krishnamurthi’s cavalier batting is set to make him a fan favorite in the MLC and he looms as a key cog in Unicorns’ line-up, boosted by a slew of recruits including young Australian internationals Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett.

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The fledgling MLC has already proven invaluable experience for American players, who are sponges when mingling with some of the biggest stars of the sport.

Last season, Krishnamurthi rubbed shoulders with legendary Australia captain Pat Cummins and dynamic Australia batter Josh Inglis, whose inventive batting has become a prototype in the shorter formats.

“Pat’s so simple with his mindset and super prepared that he takes the emotions out of it once he has bowled the ball. I found that so insightful,” Krishnamurthi said of Cummins, who is not playing MLC this season due to international commitments.

“Josh was pretty incredible because he accesses areas that I can’t even think of accessing with his reverse flicks and scoops, so he’s a batter that I really tried to learn from.”

Krishnamurthi will enter the season full of confidence and a breakout looms for an emerging cricketer who could soon find himself in demand on the T20 franchise circuit.

Flamboyant but mature – Krishnamurthi is also starting to handle with ease his growing media commitments – the talented youngster might just be the tonic American cricket needs to start making waves at home and beyond.

“We hope to one day win a World Cup and that can be a reality because there are a lot of talented cricketers in the U.S,” he said. “We just need more exposure and that will help us get better.

“The MLC gives us a chance to mix it with some of the best players in the world and I’m excited to try to help Unicorns win the title.”