Stumps & Bumps: why Japan vs India is a Main Event matchup

Japan will host T20 World Champions India with both men's teams going head to head for the first time in international cricket. The historic match has already sold out the Sano International Cricket Ground and will serve as a warm up to the Asian Games.

The one-off T20 match is a step forward for cricket's global expansion with the upcoming Asian Games competition an important step before cricket's return at the Olympics, and SEN Cricket's Bharat Sundaresan says using the popularity of the Indian side is akin to lower card wrestlers having their profile lifted by sharing ring time with main event superstars.

"It feels to me the India versus Japan T20 match, as ridiculous as it sounds, I'll say it, is very much like Roman Reigns versus Penta. I mean, that's how you show commitment that you want to grow a sport by sending all your big stars." said Sundaresan on Stumps and Bumps this week.

Earlier this week on a recent tour of South America, the WWE used World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns versus Mexican wrestler Penta as the headline act of their 'Monday Night RAW' broadcast on Netflix. The move was a success with Arena CDMX in Mexico City a complete sellout when the match was announced.

"Imagine if you're a young Japanese cricket fan or Japanese cricket player, you're going to be facing Jasprit Bumrah and the full fledged Indian T20 team. We're sending our biggest stars and we're going to make sure that cricket in Japan gets propped up when it's all done".

Listen to the latest episode of Stumps & Bumps: