Many sports fans have the wrong idea that cricket is not a global team sport like football. Although football is much ahead of cricket when it comes to leagues, sponsorships and player salaries, the same cannot be said about the number of teams who play the sport across the world.
Football has more teams than cricket, but the difference is not huge. Some fans have the misconception that only 10 to 12 teams play cricket. The 10-12 teams’ statement is correct for Test cricket, but T20I cricket is played by over 50 nations today.
A majority of the sports fans would not know that the following nations which participated in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup also have their own cricket team.
1. Argentina cricket team
Argentina made history by winning their third FIFA World Cup trophy. The South American nation has been a member of the ICC since the year 1974. Their association is known as the Argentine Cricket Association.
2. Belgium cricket team
Fans who follow European cricket would have an idea about the Belgium team. Belgium has been an affiliate member of ICC since 1991 and an associate member since 2005.
3. Brazil cricket team
Another South American nation to appear on this list is Brazil. They became affiliate members of the ICC in 2002 and then became associate members in 2017.
4. Costa Rica cricket team
Costa Rica did not have a great FIFA World Cup this year, but they are among the top teams in the Americas. They also have their own team in the sport of bat and ball.
5. Denmark
The Danish Cricket Federation received the associate membership of ICC back in 1966 itself. Former England player Amjad Khan recently left his nation to play for Denmark.
6. France
FIFA World Cup 2022 runners-up France also have their cricket team. Their federation is known as the France Cricket Association which became an associate member of ICC in 1998.
7. Japan
Asian country Japan inspired many with their solid performances in FIFA World Cup 2022. Not many fans would know that Japan has made good progress in cricket and also qualified for U-19 World Cup 2020, where they even played a match against India U-19s.
