The Knight Riders Group, which already owns Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), is investing in the US-based Major League Cricket (MLC). The T20 tournament is scheduled to start in 2022.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the investment in the MLC by the Knight Riders group will be strategic and see them playing the role of “consultant” to help USA Cricket run the six-team T20 league and they will hold a “significant” stake in the tournament.
Venky Mysore, CEO and Managing Director said that American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), USA Cricket’s partner in developing a professional T20 league in America, had invited the Knight Riders Group. “When they invited us, we said we want to take a deep dive into this, and not just have a short-term outlook,” Mysore told ESPNcricinfo. He added, “So they see us as a consultant in many ways, apart from being a big part of the league. They want us to play a very broad role, to help and assist them with all aspects of cricket in the US.”
Meanwhile, SRK in a statement to the publication said, “For several years now, we have been expanding the Knight Riders brand globally, and closely watching the potential for T20 cricket in the USA. We are convinced that Major League Cricket has all the pieces in place to execute on its plans and we look forward to making our partnership an enormous success in the coming years,”.
This cricketing league will be the first professional T20 league in USA. The tournament was scheduled to take place over the span of nine weeks starting from July 4 in 2021 but was postponed amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
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