Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are two of the biggest stars in world cricket. The players will cross swords when India take on Pakistan in the T20 World Cup on June 9 in New York. The tournament will be played in the USA and West Indies from June 1. England’s World Cup-winning pacer Liam Plunkett feels that cricket stars like Virat Kohli and Babar Azam can significantly popularise cricket in the United States.

Plunkett was blown away by the massive demands for tickets and compared the popularity of the cricketers to NBA star Lebron James. Plunkett said that Babar and Kohli are as popular as Lebron James in USA.

“I know it’s hard to get tickets,” Plunkett told AFP in a video call from Philadelphia. “People are asking me for tickets like I’m Ticketmaster or something. I’ve got nothing to do with it. I’m sure there will be a resale value. People are trying to sell it for $1,500 and people are buying the tickets for that, which is crazy to think. I said to someone, ‘If you had Babar Azam and Virat Kohli stood next to (NBA star) LeBron James, the queues for the cricketers would be just as long or not longer’. They are so massive around the world. People don’t believe that. People in America don’t realise that more people watch India v Pakistan than watch the (NFL) Super Bowl, which is crazy,” said Plunkett.

Plunkett also spoke about England’s chances in the T20 World Cup and said that even though England did not have a great ODI World Cup, they will be a force to reckon with in the IPL.

“Obviously they didn’t perform in the last 50-over World Cup,” said Plunkett. “But they’ve got some of the best players in the world. If they catch fire they can change games. Jos struggled last time, but if Jos turns up he can be a player of the World Cup,” he added.

Plunkett last played for England in the World Cup final against New Zealand in 2019 where England defeated New Zealand by now-defunct boundary count rule after a tied Super Over.

“I was very lucky to play with the best white-ball team that’s come out of England, very fortunate that I helped to win that World Cup with a group of guys who have been very successful,” he said.

“England can always be better at managing people towards the back end of their career. But every time I played for England, whether it was at the start or at the end, I loved that experience, ” he said.