Basketball vs. Cricket: Which Sport is More Popular in 2024?
Basketball and cricket are two completely different games. One is only a ball sport and the other is a bat and ball sport. Both games have a lot of popularity but only in some regions. Cricket was introduced by the Britishers and is popular in South Asia, Australia, England, South Africa, and a few other nations. Basketball, on the other hand, is very popular in the United States and European nations. A few Asian countries are also involved in the game of basketball. But which sport is more popular in 2024? Let’s find out.
Cricket & its expansion
Cricket has been on the rise since the introduction of the T20 format. The game was started back in the 16th century and is the second most followed sport in the world. This sport has gained so much popularity that more than 100 nations are actively participating in it.
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The game of cricket has a huge fanbase in India, Pakistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and a few other Test-playing nations. Only a few nations play Test cricket and the rest of them are making their way into the other formats. The T20 format has led to the emergence of European leagues. A few top European nations are getting involved in the game.
The United States of America is also a growing nation in this sport. A lot of people have migrated to the US from South Asia. They are becoming a part of this. Recently, the T20 World Cup was co-hosted in the US. Cricket has around 2.5 billion fans globally.
Basketball
Basketball is a very popular game in the United States. The sport gained global popularity since the introduction of the NBA. This is the most popular competition in basketball. Top players from across the globe and the USA compete with each other by being a part of various NBA teams. These teams are based on the regions in the US.
The sport gained a lot of popularity when Michael Jordan came onto the scene. He was such a great player that Nike even made a basketball shoe for him. Now, that shoe is so popular and has helped in the growth of the company.
However, basketball is ranked 3rd in the world rankings of popular sports. Basketball is being followed by around 2.2 billion fans globally. In India, this is the 9th most popular sport. This game requires a lot of stamina and tall players are mostly successful in this. The average height of a US citizen is more than that of an Indian citizen. There are also no franchise-based leagues and that has affected the popularity.
In the past few years, cricket has been on a significant rise. Players like Virat Kohli are gaining some global popularity like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. Basketball is a part of the Olympic games and cricket is set to make a return. As of now, cricket is just behind football in global reach.
