MELBOURNE: A significant rise in South Asian representation was witnessed in Cricket Australia (CA) as “Singh” surpassed “Smith” as the most registered surname.

According to the statistics shared by the cricketing body, Singh was the most registered surname with 4262 entries while 2364 Smiths were registered.

Further indicating the growth, South Asian surnames such as Khan, Patel, Sharma and Kumar are among the Top 16 out of 494 registered players’ surnames on CA’s players registration portal “Play HQ”.

The development comes at a time when the CA is actively pursuing strategies to integrate diverse communities into their cricket structure.

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Australian Cricket’s Multicultural Action Plan, launched in December by Usman Khawaja and Lisa Sthalekar, is a significant element of their commitment to fostering inclusivity within the sport.

James Quarmby, CA’s Head of Participation said: “The continuing growth of registrations from multicultural communities is a testament to the progress being made toward our goal of being a Sport for All.

“We want people from multicultural communities to play a major role in all parts of the game at community and elite level, whether that is as players, coaches, officials, administrators or fans.

“With Pakistan coming for a white ball series and India’s men’s and women’s teams both in Australia next summer, we hope the surge in registrations from multicultural communities will be reflected in even bigger attendances at those matches.”

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