USA here to play: Corey Anderson claims team can be proud of T20 World Cup run

Corey Anderson has claimed that the USA have shown the world that they’re ‘here to play’ after their exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 on Sunday, June 23.

The US side were the surprise package of the tournament this year as they came out looking strong from Group A, which consisted of both India and Pakistan.

They went on to shock Pakistan and pushed India to the limit to qualify for the Super 8s. However, they were unable to maintain their form and exited the competition with 3 straight losses. The last one was a humbling at the hands of England on Sunday. Anderson, speaking at the press conference, said that the team was hurt by the loss but feels that the feeling is a good sign which shows they can do much more.

“Look, they’re disappointed. They’re hurt. I’m hurt. Your pride’s always on the line when you’re playing these games and you never want to lose badly or have performances like that. But again, it’s looking at the bigger picture of it too. If we’re a team and we first started and we’re beginning to be disappointed about how we play against these big teams and knowing that we can do better, that’s a great sign because it means we can give more,” said Anderson.

Massive stepping stone
Anderson feels that despite being seen as an associate nation, there is a lot of talent in the USA and the T20 World Cup was a massive stepping stone for them. The all-rounder feels the team can be proud of their achievements.

“I think the public’s perception and expectation of us is probably very much still that we’re an Associate nation, and yes, we are. But we’ve got extremely good talent in the US, and this was a massive stepping stone in showing that. I think the boys can hold their heads high and be proud of what they’ve done. Because again, I think we’ve probably turned the world’s attention to the US for them to say we’re here to play,” said Anderson.

The USA finished at the bottom of Group 2 in the Super 8 stages.