How cricket has exploded in popularity in the U.S.

Bowie, Maryland — On a field in Bowie, Maryland, a group of children are playing a game unknown to most Americans, cricket.

“When I first started playing, my mom was like, 'baby, what are you doing?'” said 13-year-old Jordyn Hinkle-Walker.

Hinkle-Walker had never even heard of the game until three years ago, when coach Sham Chotoo brought cricket into her classroom.

“I called the principal and said, 'Hey, I'd like to come to the school and do a cricket demonstration,'” Chotoo told CBS News.

And the reaction of the students was immediate.

“It was crazy,” Chotoo said. “You see they would get really excited and you see their whole face light up.”

Chotoo grew up playing the game in Trinidad and Tobago and has made it his mission to share the sport in the United States since moving here 30 years ago.

“At that time, it was mainly the immigrant population playing cricket,” Chotoo said. “It was a fun way to get together.”

Then, when he had children, Chotoo wanted to share this piece of his culture with them.

“And I said, well, why don't I start a cricket program here,” Chotoo said.

This program became the first elementary school cricket league in the U.S. Now, more than a decade later, their program has 86 teams and more than 1,000 children playing cricket.

Nationally, the sport is exploding from coast to coast. According to USA Cricket, the sport's governing body, more than 400 leagues have opened in America, with more than 200,000 players and counting.

“It's really a watershed moment for cricket in this country,” said cricket journalist Smit Patel.

Patel predicts more aggressive growth of the sport in the US Last year, Major League Cricket debuted in the US and cricket will be featured in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“It's the second most played sport in the world,” Patel said. “The potential is immense.”

This month, for the first time, the United States hosts and competes in the International Cricket Council's men's competition. T20 World Cup.

“I think the World Cup will act as a catalyst, just as the FIFA World Cup acted as a catalyst in 1994,” Patel said.

And on Thursday, the U.S. made big news when it went ahead a surprising defeat from Pakistan. And on Sunday, India and Pakistan will face off in the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, a $30 million, 34,000-seat temporary stadium built for the T20 World Cup.

So now, with the world watching and a path to becoming a professional here in the United States, young cricketers can dream bigger than ever before.

“Now I can say, you know what, you can be a professional cricketer, you can make a living playing in the Major League Cricket program here in the US,” Chotoo said.