By day, Sanjay Krishnamurthi is a student at San Jose State.
But that’s not what he is best known for. Krishnamurthi is also a star cricket player for the U.S. senior national team, a contributor to their recent run of strong form that included a win over a formidable Pakistan team in the T20 World Cup last year.
And he’s just getting started. Krishnamurthi, 22, has established himself as a pro player, and this week, he’ll take the field for the San Francisco Unicorns as the Bay Area’s representative on the T20 national stage.
For the first time, the American T20 summer tournament, dubbed Major League Cricket, is coming to the Bay Area. The third-year league will host a trio of matches featuring the local team at the Oakland Coliseum, starting with the Unicorns’ matchup against the Washington Freedom at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Krishnamurthi will be front and center as the league – and the sport at large – attempts to expand its footprint.
“We already know that the U.S. has a pretty big fan following of cricket, but it’s mainly the South Asian community watching cricket that happens in India,” Krishnamurthi said. “The goal is to bring those eyes to cricket that’s happening right at their doorstep.
“In the coming years, hopefully we have more fans show up to these games and give it a chance. Because cricket, what people think about it is the long five-day cricket where a high class of society plays, drinking tea or something. But the reality of the modern game is it’s fast-paced and there’s quite a bit of action.”
The budding U.S. star grew up in both India and the States and found his pathway to the national team accelerated by an unexpected call-up.
“When I was in India, I wanted to play for India,” Krishnamurthi said. “But then this opportunity presented itself to come to the U.S. for a trial camp. So I came for the camp, and then COVID hit, and I couldn’t go back to India. I just stayed on. And then once I was living here, that was one of the main goals, to play for the country.”
Krishnamurthi looks to be a potential mainstay on the U.S. team for years to come, but it was his performance on the MLC circuit that really put him on the map last year.
In a game against Washington last July, he batted in 79 runs, helping San Francisco score an upset win over the Freedom, last season’s MLC champion. Additionally, he did damage against Washington bowler and international teammate Saurabh Netravalkar, who was instrumental in the U.S. win over Pakistan at the T20 World Cup.
That was the moment Krishnamurthi realized he might really be able to make a career in cricket, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere.
“I’m probably going to focus on cricket for a couple of years after college and try to take it full-time. Take my skills outside of the country as well in various leagues, should the opportunity present itself,” Krishnamurthi said.
“It’s kind of uncharted territory being a fully professional cricketer in the US, but seeing how some of the other players have done in the last couple of years has made me believe that it is possible.”
Until then, Krishnamurthi is focused on balancing his studies at SJSU with his burgeoning cricket career. It’s no easy task.
Sanjay Krishnamurthi bats for the San Francisco Unicorns during a 2024 match. (Photo: Courtesy of San Francisco Unicorns)He would have graduated this spring, but his prospects have taken off to such an extent that he is taking an extra year to balance his studies and athletic pursuits. That doesn’t mean doing so is without its challenges.
“It’s been a bit difficult, especially this last year, because I’ve been playing quite a lot,” Krishnamurthi said. “Luckily, this is during the summer, but there’s still a lot of cricket to be played the rest of the year. It depends on each professor. Most of them are quite understanding. In my situation, it’s pretty unique, and they allow me to take a makeup exam and stuff like that. But I’ve also been taking fewer classes per semester, just to make sure that it’s manageable.”
The opportunity to play in front of Bay Area cricket fans has benefits for Krishnamurthi. He’s requested 20 tickets to bring along friends and family, and he anticipates seeing buddies from SJSU and even extended family traveling from India.
Krishnamurthi views this showcase as a platform to reach local sports fans who wouldn’t otherwise be aware of the popularity of cricket in the Bay Area, or even that it is played at all.
“I think slowly, as we bring people in and the word of mouth gets out, we can start to get more of the mainstream American public to watch this sport,” Krishnamurthi said. “I’m just hoping people give it a chance. Even people who live in Oakland, just come over and see this game at their home stadium. Because once people actually see it, they get really excited.”
He hopes interest will trickle down to the high school and college levels, building a robust base for cricket to take off in the U.S.
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Pro cricket in the Bay Area: Rules to know, and what you’re watching San Francisco Unicorns kick off opening week with eyes on developing Bay Area cricket fanbase SF Unicorns cricket matches to air on NBC Sports Bay Area stations US Cricket moving their headquarters from San Francisco to Dallas Major League Cricket to play a series of matches at Oakland Coliseum this summer“Making it an NCAA sport would be something that’s down the line,” Krishnamurthi said. “But my minor league team has an academy that’s affiliated with us, and we have well over 300 kids training in the Bay Area. So there are enough people, and that’s just one of like four academies in the Bay Area. So I think it should happen soon.”
Cricket has plenty of growth potential in the Bay. It’s been a treasured pastime for many South Asian immigrant families for generations.
The Unicorns, and Major League Cricket as a whole, hope to bottle up some of that time-worn enthusiasm to fill a stadium that can seat up to 63,000 people.
Right now, cricket is a niche sport struggling to break through and stake its claim in the American zeitgeist. But this week’s games could represent a turning point in an area hungry for sporting success and still reeling from the A’s departure to Sacramento.
“Per weekend, there’s probably like 30 cricket games going on in the Bay Area,” Krishnamurthi said. “Getting to see us play is something that this place has been waiting for for a while. So come the opening game, I think it’s going to be quite energetic.”
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