PART 3—World Cup Players Series with Arya Garg

TRANSCRIPT

Ashwath: You're listening to Between the Wickets.

Welcome to part three of a special edition of Between the Wickets. In this three part episode, we're diving deep into the world of U19 cricket with three talented players who represented the USA in the ICC U19 World Cup. In this episode, I'll be sitting down with Pranav, Sid, and Arya for three one on one conversations.

To finish off this episode, I'll be talking to our third guest, Arya.

Arya, congratulations on representing the country in the U19 World Cup. Why don't you start by talking a little bit about your experiences throughout the whole process of being a part of the USA Under 19 team.

Arya: To start it was a great experience, our first playing in Canada. Like when we played, it showed the high quality and the standards that we had to compete with.

So yeah, overall, I mean like, it just showed us a glimpse of what cricket is outside of the U. S. and what we need to do in the U. S. to get better.

Ashwath: So for the World Cup, I know you guys had four or five games. How was the lead up to the tournament? How was the preparation you did with the team?

Arya: I mean, with the US, you know, our structure is not as great as most countries.

So we didn't really do much in preparation, other than have a camp in Houston, where we had multiple other players join us. And after that, we had one tour in Trinidad, where we were playing West Indies and training U19. But because of the rain, we didn't really get to do much, but it was good to be with the team.

Outside of the World Cup and outside of Canada. And just to get to know each other better. So I feel like that really helped us gel as a unit.

Ashwath: So personally for you, obviously you're like a leading fast bowler of the team. Was there a way that you prepared personally to be able to execute in the world cup

Arya: leading up to the world cup?

I mean, I knew that I'm not going to be as good as every bowler there. So, I felt like I had to focus on just making sure I've been hitting my line and my target. So a lot of spot bowling, a lot of drills. And, uh, I had to be able to use some kind of variations. So, I was just working on that, trying to create new variations.

Ashwath: So, obviously, the World Cup is a big stage to, you know, play on. How is the mood of the team? How did the team feel as a group about the World Cup in general?

Arya: Yeah, I mean, when we saw the first groups, we saw Bangladesh and India, and we were just like, those are some big team names, right? But, like, we were just all just really excited to be playing in the World Cup, because, you know, we haven't qualified in a while.

So, I mean, we just used that excitement, and we just went in with a clear mind against these teams. Because the worst thing that could happen is that we could lose. So we just knew that we had to do our best and perform.

Ashwath: So for you, was there a way that you prepared mentally in a way to take off some of that pressure? Or was it more just focusing, I'm confident in my line and lengths, I'll be like good for the games.

Arya: When I play, I always have the confidence in myself to go out there and perform. So, what I realized is that when you take in that stress and pressure, it's just going to mess with you and you're not going to perform the way you want to perform.

So I've learned over the years of me playing that when I'm playing, I just gotta do the best I can. And there's no stress or pressure for me in that.

Ashwath: Was there any, like, key things that you picked up from teams like India when you guys played them? Obviously bowling to their batsmen, they're world class batsmen, even watching maybe their fielding and their batting.

Was there anything you picked up from those bigger teams that, you know, you might want to try to bring back to our teams back here?

Arya: The main difference between teams like India and Bangladesh and us, is just how much of that kind of level of cricket they've been playing. And with that, they've learned things like temperament, being able to pick up the field gaps and stuff like that, and not getting stuck on the crease.

So I feel that that was a big problem for us. And that's something that we can take away from those kinds of teams. And try to incorporate, but I feel like that will only come with more, more games and more playing against high level quality. Do

Ashwath: you have any, any other like interesting, maybe experiences or something that you noticed throughout the whole World Cup journey that you thought was interesting?

It can be like maybe about another team, how they went about something or just anything in general. Was there any experience that you found really interesting?

Arya: I feel like for us, not being in that kind of setup before, Everything that led up to the World Cup, like pictures, photoshoots, and these kind of interviews that we've done with ICC and all that kind of stuff.

All that kind of stuff was just really cool to us, and it like showed how big Cricket is, and like, it was just like an amazing experience for that.

Ashwath: So I know between games you guys had some rest periods. What did you guys do during that time? Did you have practice sessions? Was there like any fitness or anything like that?

Or was it kind of like on and off rest and all of that?

Arya: So, when we went to South Africa, we went, I think, like a week or two early. So, during that two weeks, what we did, we had training mostly every day, mixed in with some games against some college teams there. I mean, rest, we had maybe a little bit, but like, most of the time, it was just practice.

But, like, these kind of practices were a little light. We didn't really do much other than that. It was just mostly practice and trying to, like, understand the other teams. So a lot of video sessions with that.

Ashwath: Do you guys practice on like the pitches beforehand?

Arya: So in the World Cup, you can't practice, we couldn't practice on the pitches of the game, but they had practice pitches outside.

So we either practice on that most of the days, or we went to a college that they had there, like next to the setup. And we practice there.

Ashwath: So obviously playing in the World Cup as a pace bowler, you go to a lot of the top order Batsmen of India and Bangladesh and Ireland, like other international teams.

How does that differ from, you know, opening the bowling here in New Jersey? And how did you adapt to this change?

Arya: I think the main difference in bowling to these kind of countries and adult leagues here is that. You got to be spot on every single ball and you got to minimize the bad balls because they have the ability to put them away, especially on the fields that we play on in New Jersey compared to South Africa.

The grass here is so much longer. So even if you do bowl a bad ball, sometimes you can get lucky and it won't go for a boundary because just because of the grass. So. Especially playing on those kinds of grounds and then playing against that kind of competition, you just got to make sure you're spot on with your line and lengths.

Ashwath: So I know you're like, you're a fast bowler who, you know, over time has built up your pace. Did that change your pace? Like kind of suddenly come or was it more of like an overtime thing? And was there anything you did to kind of improve your pace throughout the years?

Arya: I think what happened for me was that one year I just grew.

Like randomly. And because of that, like I had the pace, but the issue was that I didn't know how to be able to bowl that pace and still like maintain my, my strength and stuff. So I was just getting injured a lot. So what I had to do was, especially after gaining that kind of pace, I had to make sure I did strength work and other stuff to make sure I don't get hurt.

I didn't really do much to get my pace, but to be able to maintain that pace and still like keep playing. I have to make sure like to start lifting more, eating better and a lot of that stuff.

Ashwath: So in general when you're bowling the death, are you more focused on maybe like nailing that yorker? Or do you like to bowl maybe more variations?

Like what's your game plan in the death overs?

Arya: In the death overs for me, it's not about taking wickets. It's about containing runs. The issue with trying to bowl yorkers all the time is that sometimes you're gonna miss it, bowl full toss, bowl slot ball, and it'll go. So for me, it's a lot more variations.

Because with that, it's you're gonna get the dot balls and then you're gonna get wickets as well. So over time, I've learned to start blowing the knuckleball, back of the hand, and the cutters. That kind of stuff has really taken my bowling to the next level.

Ashwath: So I know on top of cricket, you're also a very good runner, and like one of the best in New Jersey. So how does that directly, like, kind of correlate with cricket? How did that help you in cricket?

Arya: Track and field, I mean, like, that kind of stuff, it's really helped me, stamina. I'm able to bowl consecutive overs.

Be able to run around and like overall that kind of speed really helps and like explosiveness really helps in the cricket field because you always need to be on your toes and always got to be aware of what's happening. So I mean that kind of stuff really helped me especially in the three years that I've been doing it.

I've seen like a lot of growth not only on the track but also in cricket.

Ashwath: And obviously you're doing track and field, you're playing cricket, and then you also have school because I know the biggest part of your cricket career so far is throughout high school. So how did you manage cricket in school?

Was that an issue for you or did you have to do anything to kind of adapt to it? Or was it kind of natural and you didn't really have that much trouble with it?

Arya: So for my school, they had like a real big issue with my attendance because we missed a month because of it. But like they're really understanding of stuff.

So what happened for me is that I had to drop out of school. They ended my marking period early and they started it late to accommodate for the month that I missed. But other than that, nothing much really happened.

Ashwath: Obviously, you played in the United Nations World Cup, representing USA on a big stage.

And then a couple months later, we had the actual Men's T20 World Cup here in the U. S., along with Major League, which has been happening for the last two years in the U. S. What do you think all these, like, Major League and the World Cup happening here in the U. S., what do you think that brings the cricket in America, and how do you think that's gonna grow the sport over time?

Arya: I think what we've been seeing from the World Cup and Major League is a lot more fans coming out and a lot more support in the U. S., and that kind of thing will only make USA's brand grow. Especially with USA now qualifying for 2026, it puts us at a real good, like, stabbing stone, and it really gives us.

As players hope for that there's a future in Cricket in USA. The only thing that this these kind of things can do is help like Cricket in US and just build that.

Ashwath: What do you think Major League like specifically kind of brings like maybe if you're a player who's playing Major League even though you're not getting many games, what do you think that kind of adds and like brings to help that specific player kind of grow?

Arya: So with Major League, There's a lot good international players like Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Kieran Pollard, who've been playing for such a long time. So just being in that kind of setup really gives you inside information on what they know and like all their experiences playing cricket. And that kind of information just, just help us as players grow and do better in the future.

Ashwath: So I know like Major League is obviously a T20 league. On top of that, USA Cricket also does play some little ODI series here and there. So for you as a fast bowler, how does your preparation kind of vary between kind of preparing for like a T20, such as Major League, or like maybe even 50 overs, like such as the games here in New Jersey, and then also eventually hopefully playing for USA?

Arya: So the difference for me in switching between T20 and ODI is mostly just what kind of lengths and what kind of lines you're bowling. So in ODIs I'm more prepared and like focused on trying to build my swing and pitching the ball up trying to find those wickets early and T20 it's mostly just being able to have those variations and just hitting that one length.

So with me, it's just, it's just dependent on what kind of game you're playing. You got to know, you got to be smarter, especially in T20s and that kind of thing.

Ashwath: Throughout your whole U19 journey, you've played on like a lot of different pitches, a lot of different grounds. How do you think about adapting to the pitch as a fast bowler?

Like what are you kind of looking for in a pitch? And based on that, where are you trying to bring your lengths to? Like if it's a slower pitch, where are you trying versus maybe it's a bit more flatter where like, what's your

Arya: In on slower pitches, which is like a lot of these Madden wickets in New Jersey.

My goal is mostly to get that ball at a length where it's not too full, but it's not like a little bit up of a good length. Because on the slower wickets, what will happen is that the ball will come and stick a bit. That kind of thing can get you wickets. So as a fast bowler, you got to know the pitch early.

And once you do that, you just got to keep going. Figure out what line I like to bowl and what to hit. So like in South Africa with the flatter wickets and those a little quicker wickets, you just have to hit top of a line, like top of off length. It's just about learning quick.

Ashwath: Moving towards the end of our episode.

Just wanted to ask, what's your view on USA cricket right now? And how do you think USA cricket is going to evolve in the future? I know we talked about it a little, but you know, with the Olympics coming up and all of that, how do you think USA cricket can really grow from where it is right now?

Arya: Um, with a lot of these things coming up, like the T20 World Cup that I just have in, major leagues, and then LA 28, I mean, the only thing that USA can do is go up from here with the proper structure, support, and infrastructure that they're trying to create in the U.S. I feel like a lot of the young players, especially in the U. S., have, like, Something to look forward to in the future.

Ashwath: Finally, having played, you know, the under 19 World Cup, having played a lot of big games over the last year, what's your advice for, you know, younger kids who are dreaming to play under 19 World Cup and further, and even kids who are preparing right now for this next cycle, what's your advice to them?

Arya: I think that the main thing is that you have to have confidence in yourself and your abilities and be able to every single time, even if you're under pressure, be able to put out a performance and take that, handle that pressure and be able to just. Play your game.

Ashwath: Thank you so much Aria for your time and best wishes for the future in your cricket career.

Arya: Thank you.