Saiteja Mukkamalla Tells The Future

The new generation of American-born cricketers is here, and a standout batter from New Jersey is its vanguard.

As of this writing, Saiteja Mukkamalla is the #23 T20 batsman in the ICC rankings. Not in North American cricket or associate cricket - in the entire world. He is the second-ranked Associate Member batsman behind the UAE's Muhammad Waseem at 21, and one of only four in the top 40 (Scotland's George Munsey at 27 and Andries Gous tied for 38th). He is the USA's top run scorer in T20s over the last year, with 639 runs at an average of 42.6 and striking 152.87. Last night, he was the top scorer for the Texas Super Kings (30 from 23) in a lower-scoring but no less convincing 93 run thumping of Seattle that followed a fine 31 off 22 in TSK’s thumping of Los Angeles on Sunday.

What were you doing at 21?

Mukkamalla is already one of the best to put on the uniform for the United States. He’s the team’s fourth-leading run scorer in ODIs, passing Gajanand Singh in the win over Oman at Lauderhill back in May, and his T20 total is already fifth all-time. He's the fifth-youngest player in the 54 year history of ODI cricket to score a century (18 years and 355 days), and he scored more runs than anyone ahead of him with his unbeaten 120 against the UAE in Namibia. He's a stout top-order bat who can open or bat in the 3/4 spot, puts up runs in bunches, has good fundamentals, and he's good in front of the camera. He is a serious option to captain the United States at some point, and could justifiably be the *next* captain once Monank Patel is done in a few years.

His talent is considerable and his potential is extraordinary, but Mukkamalla’s meteoric rise in American cricket is also important because of what it represents.

How many players in the current US setup or any US setup in the last 30 years can you name who were A.) born in the US, B.) came up through domestic US cricket, and C.) broke through to national team success? Steven Taylor is the closest one that comes to mind, but Taylor couldn't sustain an innings the way Mukkamalla can. For comparison, their respective numbers through 18 T20 innings, per Cricinfo’s records:

Mukkamalla - 639 runs, 42.60 avg, 152.87 SR, HS 100* 5 50s, 1 100
Taylor - 571 runs, 31.72 avg, 124.67 SR, HS 91, 2 50s

And through 32 ODI innings:

Mukkamalla - 993 runs, 34.24 avg, 81.12 SR, HS 120*, 6 50s, 2 100s
Taylor - 820 runs, 25.63 avg, 87.05 SR, HS 114, 4 50s, 1 100

Both were around the same age when those records start. Taylor's numbers were decent, especially the T20s. Mukkamalla's numbers are better across the board as a T20 opener, although his true strength may be in the three or four spot in both formats. He hit an unbeaten century against Oman batting third and has consistently delivered big scores in ODIs in that spot, as well. That bodes well for the national team, because a squad will typically put its best bat in one of those two positions, so having one locked down for potentially 10-15 years is something to celebrate - and there is plenty of time for upward pressure to come along and push Mukkamalla to get better to keep it.

But the salient point is not necessarily that Mukkamalla is good, or even that he is a special talent with a bright future - it's that he's our special talent. He was playing his cricket in New Jersey and soared through the local ranks into Minor League Cricket in 2021, then to the senior national team the following spring, with a brief detour to VVS Laxman’s academy in Hyderabad in 2018 well after he had learned the game and established his talent and potential. That was unthinkable 25 years ago and only for the most fanatical of cricket devotees 10 years ago. Now it’s here.

His success proves that the domestic system more or less works. It is still very unrefined, frequently chaotic, and, on its most extreme days, cutthroat, but domestic youth cricket has furnished unto the world a bona fide star. And Mukkamalla still plays in New Jersey from time to time: he played a 40-over match last August against a team featuring Stephen Wiig and Yasir Mohammad. He hit 42 off 30 and was 3/25 in 8 overs with the ball in a 27 run win. That’s good, right? It seems good.

Mukkamalla is the vanguard of the new generation that’s breaking through to the highest levels of American cricket. Mohammad has a long runway with a deep spin attack, but he’s already frequently in the team; Ayan Desai could be a factor with the quicks sooner rather than later. Utkarsh Srivastava wasn’t born in the US but still started on the domestic ladder at 9 and was capped in both formats before he turned 18; Ali Sheikh had to take more or less the same path. That doesn’t even include players like Sanjay Krishnamurthi, who spent much of his childhood chasing the India dream before finding his path to international cricket in his birth country.

The exciting part is that none of those players are finished products, and neither is our domestic cricket system. It’s hard to keep in perspective how deep we are in the primordial phase of onshoring the game here and truly weaving into the country’s sporting fabric - national youth tournaments are still coming online, and we are just now getting a consistent men’s national one-day championship organized by the governing body some 60 years after USACA [spits] joined the ICC and six years after USA Cricket took its place. Watching Mukkamalla’s meteoric rise is a powerful reference point for what American cricket can achieve once those roots get stronger - and he may have a large role to play in strengthening those roots once it’s all said and done.

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Thank you so much for reading Stumps & Stripes! The slow march forward has begun and has become really exciting for me as I piece together my content strategy. If you liked this piece, check out my MLC power rankings, where I rave about San Francisco and lolsob over my preseason favorites who lost two stars before the season started and have a third in a splint. It’s great! I’m fine. Everything is fine.

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Coming up on Stumps & Stripes…

THURSDAY: Thoughts on the Oakland leg of MLC as the season shifts to Grand Prairie
FRIDAY: Associate cricket is not okay… but how do we fix it?
MONDAY: MLC Power Rankings, Week 2