Probably not of much interest to anyone, but, of course, cricket comes to mind.

India, at 1.3 billion, is bigger than the whole baseball market, yet is also the biggest base for cricket, which otherwise is only popular in any large numbers through Pakistan, the Carribbean islands, the UK, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand. An additional 360 million odd.

Cricket is an odd game, but so is baseball. And I know US fans don't like to know this, but they're both British games.

Over the 50 odd years I've known the game the Indians are better known for their slow spin bowlers, which requires very specific ball grip and wrist snap at release, combined with extreme accuracy. Yet you cannot succeed at cricket without fast bowlers, which India has certainly also had.

In case you are interested, fast bowlers, from a run, comfortably exceed 100 mph, lauching the ball with as much complexity, or more, as baseball from a shorter distance to the batsman. This also requires controlled specific grip, snap and accuracy.

Baseball is combining those homegrown Indian skill sets. And they practice those skills from childhood, much as kids played stickball so long ago here, in the streets or any space, just for fun, free of over-controlling coaching.

The average Indian highschool cricket bowler may well understand more about gripping and moving the ball than a similar US highschool pitcher. We'll see if they transfer those to the US professional game.

Don't underrate their athletic abilities. With a set of two, much depends on their coaching and training to measure success.

Good luck to Rinku and Dinesh.

I guess I'd be sad to see cricket decline, but not if baseball had a real world series.

If you'd gone without a winning season since the early 1990's, you'd be thinking creatively too. It's not like they can just outbid the Yankees.