April 2
A cricket pitch was recently launched at the University of the Pacific's Stockton campus in California by Dr. K. Srikar Reddy, India's Consul General at San Francisco. About a hundred people showed up, including University of the Pacific president Christopher Callahan, dean of libraries Niraj Chaudhary, Indian community students, and others.

On the university delegation's journey to India, Chaudhary had proposed the idea to Callahan, and he took the lead in crafting the new pitch. “Niraj knows I am an easy sell,” Callahan added. While returning from India, we drafted the facility's blueprint, and he is largely responsible for its realisation.

About half of the university's international student body consists of Indian nationals, and Consul General Reddy emphasised the importance of the pitch to the 450 Indian students.

More Indian students will think about attending the University of the Pacific as a result of this. Everything that happened today has made me very happy. It is heartening to see the university's support of our culture. He assured them that they would have a wonderful friendship with Pacific.

During the event, the Consul General also participated in an exhibition match, highlighting the increasing popularity of cricket in the US, particularly in light of the fact that the US will be hosting the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in June. On the topic of strengthening cooperation with Indian educational institutions, he met with president Callahan and senior faculty members to discuss the matter.

The university's consideration and construction of a cricket pitch is very meaningful to us. According to Devkumar Patel '24, president of the Pacific Cricket Club, this demonstrates the university's commitment to its students. When we were younger, we used to play the sport daily in India. Here at Pacific, we can replicate this process with this. Among the many elements of the University's inauguration ceremony were Indian cuisine and Bollywood performances.

The inauguration of a cricket pitch at the University of the Pacific was overseen by the Indian Consul Genera