NEW DELHI: T20 World Cup fever has gripped the nation as teams arrive in India and Sri Lanka for their respective fixtures ahead of the cricketing extravaganza, which gets underway on February 7. Among the most talked-about teams from the Associate Nations is the USA, who made a name for themselves in the tournament two years ago.

The USA team, boasting several players of Indian descent in their squad, were spotted enjoying pani puri on the streets of Mumbai ahead of their opening match against co-hosts India at the Wankhede Stadium.

In a video that went viral on social media, the USA players were seen relishing pani puri at a roadside cart like locals, underlining their deep-rooted connection to India despite having lived abroad for many years.

The USA will be hoping to replicate their success on foreign soil after pulling off a major upset at home during the last T20 World Cup two years ago.

With home advantage, they beat neighbours Canada in their first World Cup match before defeating Pakistan in a super over to finish second in their group behind India and advance to the Super 8 stage, before losing all three games.

Since then, they have won a thrilling North America T20 Cup final against Canada, also triumphing 3-0 in a series against Oman last February.

Monank Patel will again lead the side, having made a half-century against Pakistan in 2024. Saiteja Mukkamalla is the side's highest-ranked batter at 25th in the world, sitting above the likes of Harry Brook and Cameron Green.

The 21-year-old already has international hundreds in both white-ball formats and possesses an average of 42.60 in T20s.