News24
01 Dec 2020, 21:43 GMT+10
The Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, co-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, have become a key partner in the bid to launch Major League Cricket in the United States, the team said on Tuesday.
The two-time IPL champions have signed on for a "long-term strategic partnership [that] will include financial investment and significant expertise", a statement said.
Major League Cricket, featuring six city-based franchises, is aiming to launch in 2022, bringing "world-class T20 cricket to America for the very first time", it added.
"For several years now, we have been expanding the Knight Riders brand globally and closely watching the potential for T20 cricket in the USA," Khan said in the statement.
"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."
The announcement did not say whether the Knight Riders will hold a controlling stake in the new Twenty20 league whose parent company, American Cricket Enterprises, aims to bring in top players from around the world.
ACE last month said an unused baseball stadium in Texas will be converted into a permanent cricket venue as part of plans to bring the T20 World Cup to America by 2031.
Efforts to popularise cricket in the United States have been sporadic. In 2015, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar and Australian spin legend Shane Warne played an All-Stars series in New York, Houston and Los Angeles.
In September, American fast bowler Ali Khan joined up with the Knight Riders at the IPL in United Arab Emirates, but was unable to play because of injury.
Khan, 29, played a key role in the US gaining ODI status at the World Cricket League Division Two event in Namibia last year.
Get a daily dose of Herald Globe news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Herald Globe.
More InformationWASHINGTON, DC - With a promise to 'heal' America, which in recent months witnessed a chaotic election and messy transition ...
KABUL, Afghanistan - Major violence has spread, and escalated across Afghanistan.Scores of national security forces and Taliban militants have been ...
JERUSALEM - Israeli authorities should provide Covid-19 vaccines to the more than 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank ...
WASHINGTON, DC - Washington is locked down and U.S. law enforcement officials are geared up for pro-Trump marches in all ...
WASHINGTON, DC - In a sign of the changing political environment in the Middle East, the United States military will ...
WASHINGTON, DC - Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration carried out its last federal execution when Dustin John Higgs, convicted ...
The Houston Rockets still are not whole, and with one dozen of their 72-game schedule in the books, it's becoming ...
Taysom Hill watched in street clothes as Drew Brees struggled in the New Orleans Saints' loss in the Divisional Playoffs ...
Both the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks will seek tighter defense when they meet again Wednesday night.The Blues ...
Free-agent wide receiver Corey Coleman has been suspended six games by the NFL for violating its performance-enhancing drug policy, the ...
Two teams that have taken recent turns in different directions will face off Wednesday night when the Auburn Tigers visit ...
The Colorado Avalanche acquired Greg Pateryn from the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday in exchange for fellow defenseman Ian Cole.Pateryn, 30, ...