Dreamcricket.com,
USA's leading online destination for
cricket, opened its first physical store and
indoor practice nets on September 19th, 2007
in Hillsborough, New Jersey. An eager
audience comprising players and
representatives of the New Jersey cricket
leagues witnessed the ceremonial opening of
this one-of-a-kind cricket facility.
Former Indian test cricketer, Chetan
Chauhan, opened the store and faced the
first ball in the nets. Twelve year old
USA U-13 cricketer Rishi Patel bowled the
first ball in his inimitable style. The
facility's Bola Pro cricket bowling machine,
the same one used at the Lord's, was then
switched on by Ashish Malik of the Renegades
Cricket Club.
As the speed of the bowling machine climbed
from a gentle medium-pace to a fast bowler's
85 MPH, Chetan Chauhan demonstrated to the
audience why he was always a difficult
batsman to dislodge. His courage, his
defence and his ability to get behind the
line of the ball have not diminished in the
last two decades.
Chetan Chauhan, who played 40 tests in the
1970s is best known for several century
stands he shared with Sunil Gavaskar, the
best of which was a record-breaking 213 at
The Oval in 1979. A two-term Indian Member
of Parliament, Mr. Chauhan is also the
Chairman of Selectors of the Delhi and
District Cricket Association.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Chauhan said,
"I am impressed with Dreamcricket's focus on
USA cricket and appreciate the company's
efforts to develop a cricket facility here
in USA that is on par with the best in the
cricketing world. I have heard of the
sport's growing popularity in USA and
facilities such as this one will greatly
help the development of the sport in
USA."
Mr. Chauhan also praised the area's cricket
leagues for nurturing the game in USA. He
said he was supportive of greater
interaction between USA and Indian cricket
and expressed hope that Twenty20 cricket
would greatly expand the reach of cricket in
North America. "I think Twenty20 will
revolutionize cricket and bring the sport in
contact with newer audiences in countries
like China, Japan, and USA," Chauhan told
the audience.
Kranthi Bayya, CEO of Dreamcricket, thanked
everyone present and recalled how
Dreamcricket.com had grown from a basement
operation to becoming a leading retailer of
cricket equipment as well as the leading
website for USA cricket. Ms. Bayya said
"this is a proud moment for us at
Dreamcricket. From the explosive growth of
our online operation, we know first-hand
that cricket is growing rapidly in USA. We
know that American cricketers are
world-class and with access to good
equipment and practice facilities, they can
compete with the best on the world stage.
By adopting a brick and
mortar strategy, we are putting money where
our mouth is. We plan to open more such
stores with indoor cricket cages across
USA."
Venu Palaparthi, a Director of the company,
said that in addition to creating indoor
facilities, his company was looking to
develop a natural turf cricket field in USA
that is of the highest standard.
In closing, Ms.
Bayya said that Dreamcricket was in advanced
stages of developing an online community for
USA cricketers. She thanked the area's
leagues - the Cricket League of New Jersey,
Millennium Cricket League, Garden State
Cricket League, the New Jersey Cricket
Association and the Junior NJ Cricket
organization, and their constituent clubs
for their continued support of Dreamcricket.