The United States of America (USA), a first-world country is taking tiny little steps into the world of cricket, with its first major offering being the Major League Cricket (MLC). Cricket as a sport has remained USA's Achilles Heel and with some of the younger players set to rub shoulders with the best T20 players in the world, the tournament is not only hoping to expand the game beyond traditional territories but also give a platform to the young players, who will be seen with some of the best.
The 19-game tournament will be played at two venues - Dallas and Morrisville - with a hope to take the game beyond just a couple of centres and ensure that since there are two venues, the demand for tickets will be at an all-time high. The six teams are based in some of the most popular and traditional American cities - Los Angeles, Texas, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and Seattle.
Three of these teams have been purchased by the teams owning the IPL sides, Chennai Super Kings (Texas), Mumbai Indians (New York) and Kolkata Knight Riders (Los Angeles), while the co-owners of the Delhi Capitals have a stake in Seattle Orcas. The tournament promises to be a cracker since it's short and sweet while it could serve as the curtain-raiser for more games in the US, given there's a T20 World Cup to be hosted next year in June.
When and where to watch Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 in India on TV and streaming?
The Major League Cricket (MLC) while being an exciting proposition to expand the game beyond usual territories is a noble cause but since it's in America, the viewing will be affected in countries far east like the Indian subcontinent, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania. The day-night matches will begin at 6 AM while the day matches have a 2 AM IST start.
The inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC) will have a live broadcast through the Sports18 channel on TV while the streaming of all the games will be available on the Jiocinema app and website.