Major League Cricket is assessing several cities in the US and Canada with an eye to adding two more expansion teams to its current league of six by the 2027 season.
According to a report in ESPN Cricinfo, the shortlisted cities include Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Toronto among others with large South Asian populations.
League officials recently visited Chicago, with an eye to evaluating the remainder soon. They will be evaluated based on the potential of each city to support a cirkett
Ownership of the two expansion teams has already been established. One group will be led by MLC co-founders Vijay Srinivasan and Sameer Mehta. The other will be led by Satyan Gajwani, Vice Chairman of Times Internet, owned by the Times of India (TOI). Times Internet also owns Willow TV, the leading North American broadcaster of cricket.
Sources told cricexec that not only is Chicago an extremely likely destination, but that members of the ownership group beyond the principals mentioned above have been identified.
According to Gajwani:
“There are many cities in America that have large populations of people who already love cricket. But the goal is to grow the game and that means expanding beyond that fan base. America is the largest sports market in the world. It’s also very competitive, and continuing to be relevant will be a challenge.
“But I think the economics of sport in America are pretty robust. The NBA and NFL are in 28 cities. We’re in six right now. We still have a lot of headroom for growth in the medium to long term.”
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