Cricket in America again?
Indeed. The latest addition to the international cricket scene is returning, but this time for a private celebration. The second season of Major League Cricket (MLC) will begin on July 5 at 2 p.m. local time in Morrisville, North Carolina, with a championship rematch between MI New York and Seattle Orcas from the initial season.
I’m not familiar with MLC, I apologize. My interest in American cricket began following the World Cup. Which teams are they? What is the duration of the tournament?
Presently, the MLC competition consists of six teams, with plans to expand to ten. The IPL teams like expanding internationally, therefore they invested in the world’s largest sports media market without asking permission. MI The IPL teams’ American affiliates are the New York, Texas Super Kings, and Los Angeles Knight Riders. Along with owning a portion of the Delhi Capitals, GMR is also a part owner of the Seattle Orcas, which are part of a group headed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Tech magnate Sanjay Govil owns the Washington Freedom and the San Francisco Unicorns, along with a group headed by Junglee founders Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan. The MLC is a $120 million firm that has additional funding from prominent Silicon Valley figures.
There was just one round-robin in Season 1, and then there were knockouts. Seven league games in Season 2 will be followed by the knockout stages, culminating in a final round of games in Morrisville and Dallas on July 28.
Who is participating in the game? The World Cup final in Barbados is one week away from the commencement of the event. Your A-list players must be relaxing someplace after a tough World Cup and IPL journey.
Who doesn’t enjoy traveling to America to play many rounds of golf and a fast game of bat and ball? That’s correct, with so many amazing golf courses to pick from, some of them hit more golf balls last year than cricket balls. Following his signing with the Unicorns, Pat Cummins stated, “While cricket is integral to my involvement, the global network and long-term possibilities offered by the owners specifically, and Silicon Valley more broadly, presented a unique opportunity for me and my life beyond cricket.”
Seven Australian T20 World Cup players—Patric Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Tim David, and Marcus Stoinis—left for the United States. In the IPL, Jake Fraser-McGurk, the newest star in world cricket, will live up to the hype. Following Hurricane Beryll’s disruption of travel plans, a few members of South Africa’s World Cup team, including David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and Anrich Nortje, will also be scurrying to America. The Caribbean flavor will be contributed by Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Nicholas Pooran. The best of the Kiwi talent in the league is represented by Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson.
How about the people that live there? Playing, Saurabh Netravalkar? Does he currently have enough leaves?
Thankfully, he does. And for Washington Freedom, he’ll be back in the park. After recovering from his terrible shoulder injury, USA captain Monank Patel will play for MI New York. The other three American players on the MINY squad are Steven Taylor, Nosthush Kenjige, and Shayan Jahangir. After being rejected from the World Cup, Unmukt Chand will be eager to show a point. He was spotted honing his wicketkeeping techniques. LAKR has decided to keep Chand, Nitish Kumar, and Ali Khan on board.
With no Indian players scheduled, how is the energy in the crowd?
The Texas Super Kings, along with clubs like LAKR and MINY, played all of their home games in front of enthusiastic fans last year. Every home game for the Super Kings is a show for the fans, and the Grand Prairie stadium was no exception. By the end of the season, despite playing away from home grounds in Dallas and Morrisville, clubs like MINY were low on merchandise and TSK had run out of whistles. From the beginning, the league has attracted a large following, capitalizing on the American cricket fan base that the IPL teams had previously developed.
Read More: Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul ignored by BCCI for India’s Zimbabwe tour; here’s why
