LOS ANGELES: After a momentous T20 World Cup co-hosted by the US, marked by a $30 million cricket stadium in New York along with an underdog performance by the national team, hopes are high for a pivotal second season of Major League Cricket.
This year’s cricket tournament did receive significant exposure with coverage in media institutions like The New York Times, CNN and The Washington Post.
No one thinks it will become mainstream in the US but the sleeping giant -- with cricket by some metrics the second most popular sport in the world -- has finally awakened, reported international media. It came just before the much-anticipated second season of MLC, the lucrative professional T20 league in the US luring top players around the world.
MLC has been able to secure major sponsorship deals, highlighted by Cognizant — a multinational information technology services and consulting company — becoming its first title sponsor. Salary caps for teams are to remain the same, but top players will still be handsomely remunerated and earn around $175,000 for a minimum of five games — rivalling the highest figure per game in T20 leagues outside of the money-spinning Indian Premier league.
While Indian players are not allowed to play outside of the IPL, a slew of stars will play in this season’s MLC — many from Australia highlighted by San Francisco’s marquee signing of Pat Cummins to a four-year deal. Ahead of this season, MLC received official T20 league status with tournament playing records counted towards format statistics.
While things are looking rosy in American cricket, there has been familiar warring behind the scenes with governing body USA Cricket amid continual turmoil after a spate of resignations and chief executive Dr. Noor Murad having his contract terminated earlier this year.
USA Cricket sanctions MLC, which is administered by American Cricket Enterprises after signing a 50-year commercial rights agreement in 2019. There are plans to expand MLC, with Chicago and Atlanta touted as possible new franchises amid a longer tournament earmarked to be played over much of June and July moving forward.
The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup is done and dusted, ending the latest chapter of cricket’s onerous venture into the United States. America, where cricket has struggled to gain mainstream visibility for more than a century, hosted 16 of the tournament’s group-stage matches last month, while the remaining Super Eight games and knockouts took place in the Caribbean.
The T20 World Cup’s promotion through local media was headlined by a full-page advertisement in the New York Times that featured the Statue of Liberty raising a cricket bat. Olympic champion Usain Bolt opened the tournament at New York’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, a pop-up venue built specifically for the event, while former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh appeared on NBC’s Good Morning America for a six-minute segment.
“A lot of Americans are walking in and they’re asking questions about the sport,” Ali Zar, a cricket store owner in New York, told BBC Sport ahead of the tournament. “I was born in Pakistan, so I know about this sport. My kids are born here, other kids are born here. They are starting to ask questions about this sport.”
Major American publications, including Bleacher Report and CBS News, celebrated the win on their social media channels — the match headlined a segment on ESPN’s SportsCenter, while the New York Post and New York Times began featuring the T20 World Cup prominently on their websites. Even the White House took notice — National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby congratulated the American team after they qualified for the Super Eight stage, while US Senate majority leader Chuck tweeted about the “incredible upset” against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Knight Riders Group (KRG), backed by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, alongside actor Juhi Chawla and businessman Jay Mehta, is investing in a 10,000-capacity cricket stadium near Los Angeles. Located at a 15-acre land parcel in Great Park, Irvine, Southern California, some 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the plan is driven by Major League Cricket (MLC). The org has revealed that an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city of Irvine to move forward with lease negotiations and design approvals has been approved. The investment in the stadium is likely to be in the range of $30 million, Variety understands.
KRG are owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the lucrative Indian Premier League cricket tournament and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.
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