Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023: Schedule, squads, format, live TV, streaming, match times in IST

Another Twenty20 league is set to commence today (July 13) with the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MCL) 2023 to be played in the United States.

Four Indian Premier League (IPL) owners have bought teams in MLC 2023 which will see some of the big names in world cricket plying their trade in the US, from July 13 to 30. A total of 19 matches will be played between six teams. The league has got the official nod of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Also read: Desi tech leaders in US invest $120 million in American version of IPL

Here is all you need to know about MLC 2023.

MLC teams (6)

Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, Washington Freedom.

MLC franchise owners and the ones who are running the teams

• Los Angeles Knight Riders – Knight Riders Group
• MI New York – Mumbai Indians
• San Francisco Unicorns – Cricket Victoria (high-performance partner)
• Seattle Orcas – GMR Group (co-owner of the Delhi Capitals, high-performance partner)
• Texas Super Kings – Chennai Super Kings
• Washington Freedom – Cricket New South Wales (high-performance partner)

Also read: Major League Cricket (MLC): Fleming to be Texas Super Kings coach

MLC venues (2)

• Grand Prairie Stadium, Grand Prairie, Dallas, North Texas will host 12 matches
• Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina (7 matches)

MLC Live TV, live streaming details for India and other countries

India – Viacom18 sports network. Live TV – Sports18. Live streaming on JioCinema

Australia (FOX), the Caribbean (SportsMax), New Zealand (Sky NZ), Pakistan (A Sports), South Africa (SuperSport) and the United Kingdom (BT Sport). Willow TV will telecast MLC matches live in the United States.

Also read: India vs WI | Dismissing father-son duo: Ashwin 1st Indian; full list here

Live abroad and still want to watch #MLC2023?! We’ve got you covered! https://t.co/9VeI3SvA6i

— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 12, 2023

MLC 2023 team captains

• Sunil Narine (Los Angeles Knight Riders)
• Kieron Pollard (MI New York)
• Aaron Finch (San Francisco Unicorns)
• Wayne Parnell (Seattle Orcas)
• Faf du Plessis (Texas Super Kings)
• Moises Henriques (Washington Freedom)

The salary cap for each team

Each MLC team’s salary cap is $1.15 million.

Also read: IPL 2023: Full list of award winners, prize money details, records, stats

MLC format

Each team will play the other in the league phase of MLC 2023 and the top four will qualify for the playoffs, just like the IPL. The playoffs will involve, like the IPL, Qualifier (1 vs 2), Eliminator (3 vs 4), Challenger (Loser of Qualifier vs Winner of Eliminator), and the final (Qualifier Winner vs Challenger Winner).

How many overseas players are allowed in Playing XI in MLC?

Each MLC team will have a minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 19 players in their squad. Each roster must include one under-23 domestic “rookie” player to help develop the next generation of American star players, along with another nine domestic players, according to the tournament’s website.

Each team is permitted up to nine international players on their roster. No more than six international players are permitted in the playing XI, with five domestic players to feature in each match and 10 domestic players on each roster at all times.

MLC match ticket prices

For a single match at the Grand Prairie Stadium, tickets start at $30

At Church Street Park, tickets start at $15 for a single match

MLC investors

Some of the big names including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (part owner of Seattle Orcas) Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, are among the founding 20-plus investors of MLC.

MLC operators

MLC has been sanctioned by USA Cricket and the league will be operated by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), whose founders are Sameer Mehta, Vijay Srinivasan (both founders of Willow TV), Satyan Gajwani and Vineet Jain (both from The Times of India group).

According to the league’s website, “MLC is co-founded by the founders of Willow TV, the largest cricket broadcaster in North America and the principals of The Times of India Group, India’s largest media conglomerate. MLC is also backed by a prominent and diverse group of investors from across the United States.”

MLC trophy

Designed and produced in America by the renowned Bennett Awards, out of California, the trophy is a “stunning embodiment” of the modern era of cricket in the United States, MLC said.

“Its contemporary design in bronze metal pays homage to the sport’s rich heritage while emphasising the forward-thinking vision of Major League Cricket. The Trophy’s dynamic shape captures the spirit of innovation and progress, symbolising the growth and potential of cricket within the American landscape,” it added.

Major League Cricket (MLC) squads

Los Angeles Knight Riders

• Sunil Narine (captain), Saif Badar, Unmukt Chand, Corne Dry, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Spencer Johnson, Ali Khan, Nitish Kumar, Jaskaran Malhotra (wicketkeeper), Rilee Rossouw, Jason Roy, Andre Russell, Ali Sheikh, Gajanand Singh, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Bhaskar Yadram, Adam Zampa.

Official Twitter handle: @LA_KnightRiders

MI New York

• Kieron Pollard (captain), Ehsan Adil, Hammad Azam, Jason Behrendorff, Trent Boult, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Saideep Ganesh, Shayan Jahangir (wicketkeeper), Nosthush Kenjige, Rashid Khan, Sarabjit Ladda, Monank Patel (wicketkeeper), Kyle Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, David Wiese.

Official Twitter handle: @MINYCricket

San Francisco Unicorns

• Aaron Finch (captain), Qais Ahmad, Finn Allen, Corey Anderson, Amila Aponso, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Brody Couch, Mackenzie Harvey, Shadab Khan, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Carmi Le Roux, Lungi Ngidi, Smit Patel (wicketkeeper), Liam Plunkett, Haris Rauf, Tajinder Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), David White.

Official Twitter handle: @SFOUnicorns

Seattle Orcas

• Wayne Parnell (captain), Harmeet Singh (vice-captain), Nauman Anwar, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Cameron Gannon, Shehan Jayasuriya, Aaron Jones, Heinrich Klaasen, Izharulhaq Naveed, Nisarg Patel, Angelo Perera, Shubham Ranjane, Dasun Shanaka, Phani Simhadri, Matthew Tromp, Andrew Tye, Imad Wasim, Shimron Hetmyer, Dwaine Pretorius.

Official Twitter handle: @MLCSeattleOrcas

Texas Super Kings

• Faf du Plessis (captain), Sami Aslam, Dwayne Bravo, Cody Chetty, Gerald Coetzee, Devon Conway, Milind Kumar, Lahiru Milantha, David Miller, Mohammad Mohsin, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Daniel Sams, Mitchell Santner, Calvin Savage, Zia Shahzad, Cameron Stevenson, Rusty Theron.

Official Twitter handle: @TexasSuperKings

Washington Freedom

• Moises Henriques (captain), Mukhtar Ahmed, Saad Ali, Akhilesh Bodugum, Justin Dill, Ben Dwarshuis, Andries Gous, Sujith Gowda, Wanindu Hasaranga, Marco Jansen, Adam Milne, Saurabh Netravalkar, Anrich Nortje, Josh Philippe, Glenn Phillips, Dane Piedt, Obus Pienaar, Usman Rafiq, Akeal Hosein.

Official Twitter handle: @WSHFreedom

Official Twitter handle of MLC: @MLCricket

Are we gonna see @stevesmith49 in red, white and blue in the future?! ❤️🤍💙

😲😲😲 https://t.co/DqDnitzrQe

— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 12, 2023

Match officials for MLC

Umpires: Wayne Knights, Paul Wilson and Ruchira Palliyaguru (all three from ICC international panel). Jermaine Lindo, Rushane Samuels, Vijaya Prakash Mallela and Billy Taylor (all four US-based).

Match referees: Simon Taufel (former ICC elite panel umpire), Reon King.

What MCL team captains said ahead of the inaugural season

Aaron Finch (San Francisco Unicorns)

“We are blown away about the amount of people that turned up for our fan day. Having the opportunity to speak to young cricketers was brilliant. The ability to grow the game in this part of the world and hopefully fast track the next generation of players to become world class players in these facilities is unbelievable. So I think that is our role for us and this competition.”

Moises Henriques (Washington Freedom)

“I’m excited to get out there and play. The standard of the international players is amazing but I think what is going to be great for this tournament and country moving forward is the influence on the local talent. If you ask anyone in the world it is the local talent that wins you tournaments in this type of T20 tournament.”

Sunil Narine (Los Angeles Knight Riders)

“Based on how much cricket has been played here, it will be high quality with all these international players feeding information to the youngsters – it will grow from strength to strength.”

Wayne Parnell (Seattle Orcas)

“Being in America, it is a land for dreamers. For us as international cricketers in America, it is our duty to promote the game in America and make sure over the next five to 10 years it takes off. A lot of expats play the game, but to get the Americans who were born and bred here, it is vital.”

Faf du Plessis (Texas Super Kings)

“The stadium looks beautiful. Walking into the stadium it was amazing to see how much work has gone into getting it ready. The outfield looks green and lush. The pitches were really good and impressive. From that perspective, the tournament is already impressive.”

“I see myself, in 10 or 15 years, coming into American sports and you can see the American feel watching the game of cricket which is unique to anywhere else in the world.”

Kieron Pollard (MI New York)

“From an MI Perspective, we look at new talent and are able to scout those international players and when we look at it and go around the world in each tournament, the most important people are the domestic talent.”

Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023: Full Schedule (All times in IST)

July 14 (6 am)

Texas Super Kings vs Los Angeles Knight Riders (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 15 (2 am)

MI New York vs San Francisco Unicorns (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 15 (6 AM)

Seattle Orcas vs Washington Freedom (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 16 (6 AM)

San Francisco Unicorns vs Seattle Orcas (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 17 (2 AM)

Match 5 – Texas Super Kings vs Washington Freedom (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 17 (6 AM)

Los Angeles Knight Riders vs MI New York (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 18 (6 AM)

Texas Super Kings vs MI New York (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 19 (6 AM)

Los Angeles Knight Riders vs San Francisco Unicorns (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 21 (3 AM)

Washington Freedom vs Los Angeles Knight Riders (Church Street Park, Morrisville)

July 22 (4 AM)

Seattle Orcas vs Texas Super Kings (Church Street Park, Morrisville)

July 23 (4 AM)

Washington Freedom vs San Francisco Unicorns (Church Street Park, Morrisville)

July 23 (11 PM)

Los Angeles Knight Riders vs Seattle Orcas (Church Street Park, Morrisville)

July 24 (12 AM)

MI New York vs Washington Freedom (Church Street Park, Morrisville)

July 25 (4 AM)

San Francisco Unicorns vs Texas Super Kings (Church Street Park, Morrisville)

July 26 (4 AM)

MI New York vs Seattle Orcas (Church Street Park, Morrisville)

July 28 (2 AM)

Eliminator (3 vs 4) (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 28 (6 AM)

Qualifier (1 vs 2) (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 29 (6 AM)

Challenger (Qualifier Loser vs Eliminator Winner) (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)

July 31 (6 AM)

Final (Qualifier Winner vs Challenger Winner) (Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas)