MLC Set to Expand to 8 Teams by 2027, Exploring Move into Canada

By 2027, the fast-growing T20 league in the USA, Major League Cricket (MLC) will likely increase its teams from six to eight. New cities that may be home to the league's teams include Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Toronto expanding the league’s presence to Canada as well, according to reports. Backed by USA Cricket, MLC currently comprises six teams Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom, and top international players.

Satyan Gajwani, one of the co-founders of Major League Cricket, will run one of the new franchises, while fellow co-founders Vijay Srinivasan and Sameer Mehta will run the other. Gajwani said that while there are many possibilities, no decisions have been finalized, and the final choice will be made closer to the league's expansion.

"We have options ahead of us. I don't think we're committed one way or the other right now. That's realistically a decision we will take closer to launch," Gajwani told ESPNcricinfo.

Major League Cricket (MLC) is seeking to enter cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Toronto which have large South Asian populations. The cities to be selected will be announced later this year. The expansion is based on market potential and local government support for building stadiums. MLC officials have just come back from Chicago and say they were encouraged by what they saw there. Three of the six MLC teams are owned by IPL franchises Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Chennai Super Kings while Delhi Capitals promote the Seattle team. San Francisco and Washington have ties with Cricket Victoria and Cricket NSW, respectively. As the league develops, MLC plans to increase the number of games and switch to a home-and-away model.

Citing cities with cricket-loving communities, Satyan Gajwani emphasized the need to grow cricket in America. He also acknowledged the tough competition in the U.S. sports market, where there are only cities with NBA and NFL major leagues.

"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," Gajwani said.