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Major League Cricket: IPL’s most successful franchises, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai (Super Kings) have entered the US market. The two teams, alongside Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders, have bought stakes in Major League Cricket (MLC) franchises, a new tournament set to kick off in the USA in August. The investment comes after IPL teams successfully purchased all 6 teams in the recently held SA20. 5 teams in the ILt20 also have IPL and WPL links. Follow IPL 2023 LIVE Updates on Insidesport.IN
Major League Cricket Teams owned by IPL franchises
- New York – Mumbai Indians
- Los Angeles – Kolkata Knight Riders
- Texas – Chennai Super Kings
- Seattle – Delhi Capitals
Kolkata Knight Riders were the first to join the Major League Cricket bandwagon are were the early investors in the tournament. The two-time champions take charge of the Los Angeles franchise. KKR have a strong presence in the West, also owning CPL side Trinbago Knight Riders.
Chennai Super Kings meanwhile have partnered with a local investor to purchase the Texas franchise. CSK missed out on owning a Women’s IPL team but was eager to step into the market and expand. Local investors Anurag Jain and Ross Petrot Jr partnered with the four-time IPL winners, with former CSK all-rounder Albie Morkel set to undertake scouting activities in the US.
Mumbai Indians will run the New York franchise as they continue their rapid expansion spree. In the last year, MI have acquired teams in the ILT20, SA20 and the WPL, alongside their IPL franchise. The MLC is another feather added to their cap. Cricbuzz understands, MI’s Rahul Sanghvi and J Arun Kumar will handle the scouting activities in the US for the tournament.
Delhi Capitals, like Mumbai Indians, also have stakes in 5 tournaments including the MLC. Jointly owned by GMR Sports Private Ltd and Jindal Sports West, it is the former that has entered a partnership to run the Seattle franchise. GMR has teamed up with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The team will be known as ‘Seattle Orcas’, a killer whale native to the ocean waters around Seattle. As per Cricbuzz, The GMR group had sent Delhi Capitals scouts to Houston to oversee a selection tournament in Houston.
IPL teams and their associations in foreign leagues
| IPL | WPL | ILT20 | SA20 | MLC | CPL |
| Mumbai Indians | Mumbai Indians | MI Emirates | MI Cape Town | New York franchise | – |
| Delhi Capitals | Delhi Capitals | Dubai Capitals | Pretoria Capitals | Seattle Orcas | – |
| CSK | – | – | Joburg Super Kings | Team Texas | – |
| KKR | – | Abu Dhabi Knight Riders | – | Los Angeles Team | Trinbago Knight Riders |
| SRH | – | – | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | – | – |
| Rajasthan Royals | – | – | – | – | Barbados Royals |
| Punjab Kings | – | – | – | – | St Lucia Kings |
| RCB | RCB | – | – | – | – |
| Gujarat Titans | – | – | – | – | – |
| Lucknow Super Giants | – | – | – | – | – |
| – | Gujarat Giants | Gulf Giants | – | – | – |
| – | UP Warriorz | Sharjah Warriors | – | – | – |
Other than Nadella and GMR, the other investors in the Orcas franchise comprise Soma Somasegar (managing director of Madrona Ventures), Samir Bodas (co-founder and CEO, Icertis), Ashok Krishnamurthi (managing partner, GreatPoint Ventures) and Sanjay Parthasarathy (a former senior executive at Microsoft and Avalara).
The remaining two teams in Major League Cricket are based out of Washington and San Francisco. Both franchises have signed partnerships with Australian state sides. Washington Freedom, owned by American investor Sanjay Govil has tied up with New South Wales. NSW will provide operational expertise including helping set up the squad and putting a cricketing structure in place for the franchise. The San Francisco franchise is owned by Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, and Cricket Victoria.
Major League Cricket Rules
The inaugural season of MLC will be played between July 13 and 30 at the newly renovated facility in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, Texas, with the player draft for local US players scheduled to be on March 19 at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. The squad size will comprise a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 players, of which nine can be overseas players. At least six players in the playing XI will need to be from the USA. The overseas players will be direct signings by the franchises, not part of the draft. It is understood that teams will have a purse of USD 800,000 for overseas signings and USD 300,000 for the US-based players.
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