Corn Kid was the first time I was ever exposed to the term "The Juice" in its modern usage. The category of things which can have The Juice is boundless, as is the list of attributes which can imbue something with The Juice. Corn, a big lump with knobs, need only be slathered in butter in the Midwestern style to unlock its Juiciness (both literal and metaphorical). That's a pretty obvious one that requires no additional effort, analysis, or context. Other things derive their Juiciness from their context specifically, which is less of a base sensory experience and more about inference.
So when I say that the USA men's roster for a crucial tri-series in Nepal has The Juice, I'm referring to the storylines contained within that someone brand new to the sport, or maybe who was introduced at the most recent T20 World Cup, wouldn't necessarily have context for.
The list of intriguing storylines is not short. Ascendant batsman Saiteja Mukkamalla has replaced Jessy Singh as vice-captain, suggesting that the latter’s longtime presence in the bowling attack may not be such a fixture in the lineup going forward after a nasty shoulder injury against New Zealand kept him out of the T20 World Cup and paved the way for Shadley van Schalkwyk's sensational tournament. Shado was never a particularly sensational ODI bowler for the US and is not part of this touring squad, though he may still have another good cycle in him as he approaches 38. Smit Patel is back in the fold after being left out of the T20 World Cup squad with his opening spot likely under threat, but his 100-ball 75 against Nepal in Dubai last October was more than the rest of the openers' scores combined over the team's four games in the UAE. He was the top run scorer at the Houston Open, which is the only national domestic cricket available to him between then and now, and scored a century against a Nepal A side in a warm-up match. Andries Gous, meanwhile, is not on the trip and appears to be headed for exclusive T20 use at the international level. Gous has struggled to sustain much in ODIs after promising early returns, averaging just 12.5 at a 63.0 strike rate over his last six appearances. There aren't many openers knocking on the door of that spot, so he could easily be back if Smit or Shayan Jahangir falters. The point of all of that is that there are meaningful internal stakes with this roster as it enters what could be the defining stretch of its Cricket World Cup League 2 cycle.
What gives me the most intrigue, though, is that for the second straight ODI series, the US has called up its top uncapped pace prospect.
North Carolina's Ritvik Appidi is in Nepal with the squad and has a chance of making his international debut this week. Pubudu Dassanayake got good run out of the slightly older Rushil Ugarkar in the last series, so he has given the 17 year old from the Research Triangle a spot in camp. While he should come in handy as an effective nets bowler, a 15-man travel squad doesn't offer a lot of room for waste. If players on the trip aren't ready to play, a coach can’t really afford to bring them.
Appidi has been on a meteoric rise over the last nine months. He got plenty of experience from his Minor League Cricket campaign with the Morrisville Raptors and carried that good form into a terrific U19 World Cup. Weather denied him the best chance to showcase his wares in Zimbabwe, but sending the middle stump of Indian child prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hurtling through the air got him social media buzz, and he took 4/54 in a win over Scotland in the final game of the tournament. Three and a half months before his 18th birthday, he's in the senior national team camp, and he's one "something doesn't feel right" from his international debut. Unlike Ugarkar, though, who got to face a cold Nepal team on a neutral field in his debut, Appidi will get thrown in the deep end: he'll either face a Scotland team that wants the top spot in League 2 or a Nepal side that has been together for a solid month and built confidence from a home tri-series against Oman and the UAE. The good news is, TU Cricket Ground has proven very pacer-friendly this spring, so he at least has a skillset that can maximize the conditions if he does go out there. He still has some technique things to clean up - he falls away from the wicket on his follow through, and his left knee buckles when he lands in a way that has a lot of potential to go wrong - but he can hit 80 on the radar gun, so he has the raw pace to compete while he works through those things and puts on the physical strength that can buy him another 5-6 miles per hour over the course of his career.
More than that, though, calling up Ritvik Appidi is about philosophy and organizational momentum. We are not Australia, who can afford to slow-play youngsters in the test squad because they have a deep pool of vets to draw from and an established competitive structure to get those youngsters the cricket they need. There is still a missing link between the MLC and MiLC opportunities at the top of the ladder and the wholly amateur club scene. International camps afford a chance to fill that gap with more high-level coaching opportunities, and more young players are getting their shot. Who's to say the next call for an opener won't be to Adnit Jhamb, Amrinder Gill, or Sahil Garg? Chances are, we're gonna need at least one of those guys in the next 12-24 months. In the words of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, never been a better time than right now.
But the "right now" for those batsmen is not now - it's just soon. It's the big right-hander's turn to take all of this in. He can validate a philosophy that promotes younger players simply by showing up and being prepared for whatever is thrown at him, whether that's nets work or something with higher stakes. It won't be the last time his name shows up on one of these rosters.
As you read this, Scotland and Nepal should just be finishing up. We're about to see just how close (or how far away) Nepal really is to being a worthwhile addition to the Future Tours Program. We've barely seen bat to ball in this series and it already has The Juice. I might need some corn of my own, though I’d want mine popped first.