At a Lynbrook Vipers Cricket Team practice, sophomore Sreyes Chetput winds up his arm to throw the ball as senior and captain Ayaan Khan prepares to strike. Seconds later, it surges through the air, slamming into Khan’s bat with a solid crack, then arcs back into the hands of senior and captain Aarav Jani.
Cricket, originating in England, was later popularized in South Asia, England, Australia and the Caribbean, and has recently gained popularity in the United States. Cricket is played between two teams of 11 players each. The field contains two vertical stumps crowned with horizontal sticks, called wickets, at the center, and each team aims to get the most runs either by running the 22-yard stride from one wicket to another or hitting the ball past the edge of the field to score six runs and within the field boundary to score four runs.
Each cricket team includes a bowler, the player that throws the ball to the batter; several outfielders who catch and retrieve the ball and a batsman, the player who hits the ball into the outfield.
“It’s hot so it gets pretty blurry, especially when the ball comes super fast,” freshman and batter Savya Churi said. “A player bowls high, so it’s like a bullet coming at you.”
The Vipers Team was founded in December 2023 by senior Aadharsh Rajkumar, senior Aryan Patnaik, Khan and Jani. The team participates in approximately biweekly matches against other local high schools, including Monta Vista High School and Cupertino High School in an unofficial six-team league. Matches regularly take place at Cupertino Library, Dilworth Elementary School and Lynbrook. In addition, the captains hold informal practices outside of games, strengthening bowling, batting and fielding skills, while fostering collaboration among a team of varying experience. Since more experienced players have been on club teams with professional coaches, they host training sessions for the others to improve.
“It’s nice to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different people and learn how to adapt to them,” junior Bruhath Batla said. “For example, someone might be good at bowling, but struggle with batting. Additionally, a lot of our teammates are new to cricket, but they said, ‘Why not join? I’ll try cricket for some time.’”
Despite not being an official school sport, the time commitment for the Vipers can be upward of 10 hours per week. This can impede players from joining, especially if they are participating in other extracurricular activities. Moreover, because the team lacks a concrete season schedule and a coach, the captains need to personally contact a variety of unofficial teams in the Bay Area to schedule matches.
“If you play on the Vipers, you spend just as much time as other school sports, maybe even more,” Chetput said. “If we do get introduced as a school sport, players are at least getting credit for the amount of hours they spend on exercise.”
Many players, including Khan and Jani, attribute cultural and familial influences — often from individuals like parents or grandparents — for their introduction to the sport and motivation to play for the Vipers. Cricket is an extremely popular sport in India, with over 600 million viewers watching the sport through television or other streaming services according to Statista.
“I got into cricket because my family used to watch it,” junior Aarit Parekh said. “I remember watching the 2019 World Cup, and then after that I really started playing and enjoying cricket.”
Many members have known each other since middle school from outside cricket clubs and played together casually before the formation of the Vipers, but they always welcome new players interested in cricket. Both of these factors have led to the entire team’s tight-knit community, based on a shared love for the sport.
“Our team became good friends through victories and losses, and we are very supportive of each other, no matter the skill level,” Chetput said. “We are all here to promote the game first before trying to win.”
The Vipers hope to contribute to the expansion of cricket in the Bay Area. Chetput has been at the forefront of the effort to make cricket an official sport at Lynbrook. He, his father and Assemble Concurrent Resolution 211 Promoter Hemant Buch helped Assemblymember Ash Kalra review the ACR 211. This resolution, passed in August 2024, “urges the California Interscholastic Federation to take steps towards officially recognizing the game of cricket in California.” In practice, ACR 211 means that middle and high schools are now encouraged to organize official cricket teams if CIF member schools submit a request to CIF. Chetput has also been in conversation with Athletic Director Jennifer Griffin and Principal Maria Jackson regarding Lynbrook’s implementation of this resolution, which he hopes will take place by the winter season of 2025.
“I know that because ACR-211 passed, players all over California will definitely be positively impacted,” Chetput said. “Overall, once people get the green light, I feel that many students will ask their schools to create cricket teams.”
Some other long-term priorities include expanding the league to include more schools and increasing the number of players. In less than a year, the team has grown from less than 15 players to nearly 35, and their league which started with three schools has doubled to six. The team has a 9-6 record so far, and an upcoming league tournament is also currently in the works.
“I genuinely think that founding the club is one of the defining moments of my high school experience,” Rajkumar said. “This is an initiative that will continue long after we graduate.”
