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The Former Chef and the Programmer Who Led U.S. Cricket to Victory over Pakistan

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Monank Patel poses for a picture after being awarded player of the match during the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 match between USA and Pakistan at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, Texas, June 6, 2024.

Matt Roberts-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

The captain of the United States national cricket team, which defeated international powerhouse Pakistan on Thursday in the T20 World Cup, was running an Asian-food restaurant a few years ago.

Monank Patel, who led the U.S. batting attack with 50 runs scored against Pakistan, worked ten- to twelve-hour days running Teriyaki Madness, in South Carolina, from 2016 to 2018. He had moved to New Jersey in 2014 after failing to make the U19 Indian national cricket team. “Depleting monthly sales meant he had to double as a chef and as the manager to cut corners in a bid to stay afloat,” Cricbuzz reports.

Dominic Pino

About the Author

Dominic Pino

Dominic Pino is a former economics editor and Thomas L. Rhodes Fellow at National Review and the former host of the American Institute for Economic Research podcast Econception.

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