Major League Cricket (MLC) received a big boost ahead of the second season when the International Cricket Council granted an official List-A status for the tournament. The move now means that the MLC is an official T20 league and the premier domestic tournament in the USA.
The move to recognise the league is aimed at promoting the game in the USA, given the fact that the country is hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to commence on June 1.
The official List-A status also augurs well for the players as the records are documents and international recognition is easily available for them.
The MLC, in a statement, was overwhelmed with the decision. “Now, every century, half-century, ‘five-for’, run-out, win, loss, and championship will be documented as official career statistics in an internationally recognised format of the game. The List-A status comes after the MLC’s successful inaugural season and underscores its unwavering dedication to delivering premier cricket in the United States,” the statement read.
Vijay Srinivasan, CEO of MLC, recently announced the expansion of the tournament from 19 matches in 2023 to 34 matches by 2025, given how the response to the inaugural season was.
Srinivasan said the aim is to take the popularity momentum into the second season and the World Cup. “We saw cricket mania sweep across the US last year off the back of our inaugural season of Major League Cricket. Now, we take exciting momentum into the highly anticipated ICC T20 World Cup and season two of the MLC. With an unforgettable summer of cricket on our doorstep, we’re ready to capture the hearts of American sports fans with our thrilling, adrenaline-charged game that is the most exciting emerging T20 tournament across the globe,” Srinivasan told the media.
The MLC is recognized by USA Cricket and six teams – Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom – play in the league. The league also saw several prominent players from West Indies, New Zealand and Australia among others to take part.