The Silent Architects of USA Cricket: Reginald Benjamin, Mumtaz Yusuf, and the Grassroots Legacy They Built
As the 2025 season of Major League Cricket unfolds across American stadiums and screens, the spotlight rightly shines on rising stars and international imports. But far from the bright lights of franchise cricket, a quieter story has long been shaping the future of the sport — one built on decades of mentorship, persistence, and belief.
Cricket in the United States owes much of its early growth to grassroots educators — men and women who nurtured young talent with little institutional support and even less recognition. Two such figures, foundational to Southern California’s cricketing landscape, are Reginald Benjamin and Mumtaz Yusuf. Their stories, rooted in migration and service, offer a lens into the overlooked architecture of American cricket’s development.
This article draws in part from interviews and archival research conducted by cricket historian and writer Debjit Lahiri, whose independent documentation includes a growing body of work on grassroots cricket in the United States.
From Antigua to America: Reginald Benjamin’s Quiet Mission
In 1987, Reginald Benjamin arrived in the United States from Antigua — a fast bowler molded in the competitive culture of West Indian cricket. He landed in a country where cricket was scarcely visible and hardly resourced. Still, within a few years, Benjamin earned a USA national cap, forming a new-ball partnership with Jamaica’s Hopeton Barrett that is still remembered by followers of the American game in the 1990s.
But Benjamin’s most lasting legacy began after his playing days.
Concerned by the lack of a youth pathway, Benjamin took charge of the U.S. Under-19 team in the early 2000s. The team had recently failed to qualify for the U-19 World Cup, finishing fifth in the Americas.
“That hurt. So I called up a few coaches. We built a plan.”
By 2006, the U.S. U-19s had qualified for the World Cup — a historic milestone made possible by a more intentional focus on structure, discipline, and long-term development.
As Lahiri later reflected, “Benjamin’s 2006 squad wasn’t just a team. It was a roadmap for what American cricket could become if grassroots systems were taken seriously.”
The Struggle to Retain Talent
Benjamin has also been candid about a persistent obstacle: the difficulty of retaining homegrown cricketers between the ages of 17 and 21.
“Many kids walk away. They lose motivation when they see players arriving from overseas — guys with stronger résumés — instantly moving ahead of them.”
While the number of youth players in America has grown, Benjamin cautions against equating participation with progress.
“More kids are playing, yes — but that doesn’t mean the quality is rising. Without deeper investment at the grassroots level, we’re just spinning wheels.”
The Role of Local Academies
In the absence of national infrastructure, Benjamin credits local academies for holding American cricket together.
Players like Ravi Timbawala and Abhimanyu Rajp, both of whom trained under Benjamin from a young age, went on to represent the United States at the senior level. But their contributions did not stop at playing. Today, Ravi serves as Chief Selector for Team USA, while Abhimanyu co-founded Los Angeles Lashings, a prominent Minor League Cricket team, and remains active in youth development across Southern California.
Their journeys — as highlighted in Lahiri’s documentation — reflect the longer arc of Benjamin’s coaching philosophy: one focused not just on performance, but on shaping individuals who would reinvest in the sport.
“I wasn’t just trying to make them good cricketers. I was trying to prepare them for life.”
The Sri Lankan Who Stayed: Mumtaz Yusuf’s California Journey
A seasoned coach from Sri Lanka, Yusuf had worked with national-level players like Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva, and completed assignments in Malaysia before moving to the United States. Coaching in America wasn’t part of his original plan — but a Southern California physician asked him to help mentor his sons at a fledgling center called Citrus Valley Academy, and Yusuf agreed. Two decades later, he’s still shaping cricketers.
Operating out of Irvine and Buena Park, Yusuf established structured coaching programs for children as young as eight, guiding them through each stage of their development. His methods emphasized discipline, technical clarity, and individualized growth.
According to Lahiri’s interviews, Yusuf played a key role in the rise of players like Ayan Desai (USA Men’s national team) and Chetna Paggalaya (USA Women’s team), both of whom came through his academy system.
“I’ve coached Test cricketers. But there’s something deeply meaningful about helping American-born kids break into the game.”
“They’re starting from scratch — and they’re breaking barriers.”
A System Under Pressure
Despite their success stories, both Benjamin and Yusuf worry about the direction of youth cricket in America.
“Our grassroots energy is slowing. Fewer weekday training sessions, more social leagues, and changing immigration patterns — all of it is thinning the pipeline.”
“If we’re not careful, we’ll turn cricket into a weekend showpiece, not a sustainable system.”
Coaching for Life, Not Just Cricket
For both men, cricket was never the endpoint. It was the medium.
Their programs not only produced national players, but also students who earned admission to universities like Princeton, Berkeley, and UCLA — driven as much by the mindset they developed on the field as by academic scores.
“They weren’t just coaching cricket,” Lahiri reflects. “They were creating a framework for growth — blending sport with character, discipline, and opportunity.”
