India, Feb. 26 -- Cricket took a giant leap into the unknown two years ago by expanding the T20 World Cup to 20 teams. For a sport used to the drill of having a handful of serious contenders for the top prize, where upsets are less common, this was a major step toward spreading its global footprint.

USA-West Indies were far from ideal venues to test such an experiment. The USA was a completely new market, and the West Indies is one where the sport has been in terminal decline. The tournament still created enough buzz thanks to India's unbeaten run to end their 17-year T20 title drought. More than half the 190,000 people who took seats at stadiums in the USA came for India matches.

Contrast that to the crowds we are seeing in India for t...