More Singhs Than Smiths as South-Asian Players Surges in Australian Cricket

Registration data for the 2023-24 season showed that Singh was the most registered surname with 4262 entries while 2364 Smiths were registered. The number of Singhs first exceeded Smiths in 2018-19.

This significant trend highlights the growth in South-Asian registered participation across all areas of Australian Cricket, as well as the opportunities to grow attendance with India’s men’s and women’s teams and Pakistan’s men’s team to tour Australia next summer.

Further emphasising this growth, Patel was the third most common surname with other typically South-Asian surnames Sharma, Khan, and Kumar are the top 16 amongst the total 494 registered surnames on Play HQ.

Cultural & linguistically diverse (CALD) Cricket participation continues to grow across Australian Cricket with a 36% increase since the last pre-COVID season in 2019/20.

This comes as Cricket Australia (CA) actively pursues strategies to integrate diverse communities into Australian cricket. Australian Cricket’s Multicultural Action Plan, launched in December by Usman Khawaja and Lisa Sthalekar, is a significant part of cricket’s commitment to fostering inclusivity within the sport.

As well as increased participation, Australian Cricket is looking at ways to ensure cricket lovers from multicultural communities attend more matches by providing welcoming and inclusive environments and experiences.

In the 2024-25 season, the white ball tour by Pakistan men, the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and the three-match ODI series against India women will all provide tremendous opportunities for South-Asian communities, particularly, to get out and show their love and support for the game.

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,” he added.