With a salary cap that's competitive with similar T20 tournaments around the world, Major League Cricket organisers secured most of the better-known players they pursued
By Eastern EyeJul 26, 2023
DEEP in the Heart of Texas blared from the speakers during a timeout a few days into the debut of a US professional cricket league near Dallas. Fans waved the flags of the Texas Super Kings and the LA Knight Riders, with some wearing the jerseys of their favourite countries or clubs overseas.
A couple had ballcaps of two of the biggest brands in the US – the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees.
This unusual confluence comes during the debut of Major League Cricket (MLS), which is hoping to find a foothold for one of the world’s most popular sports in a sports-mad country that knows little about the other bat-and-ball game.
Because of a willing partner happy to see a fading minor league baseball stadium turned into one of the few legitimate cricket pitches in the country, the league made its start in Texas, famous for the Friday night lights of high school football.
The 7,000-seat stadium is in Grand Prairie, not far from where the Cowboys – America’s Team, remember – play in front of 90,000-plus eight or nine times every fall under a retractable roof with a giant video board hanging over the field.
“Some days I think we’re crazy,” tournament director Justin Geale said. “We’re in the middle of Dallas and we’ve got a cricket ground. I saw the vision. I got very excited. I got goose bumps when I first came in here. I thought, we can do this.”
As with many things, money is the key, and co-founder Sameer Mehta said investors behind the initial $120 million (£93.6m) aren’t expecting to turn a profit for several years, if then. Much of the money is coming from India, where arguably the best T20 cricket – the three-hour version that most closely resembles baseball is played in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Three IPL owners are helping run US teams.
With a salary cap that’s competitive with similar T20 tournaments around the world, Major League Cricket organisers secured most of the better-known players they pursued, including Texas Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis.
The South African was swarmed by autograph seekers during a match against Washington when his playing time was finished. There are US players as well on rosters that allow six spots for international veterans. Mehta said he had no concerns about the quality of play even without IPL players because of rules preventing them from being here.
Grand Prairie stadium“There’s some bloody good players out there, especially with the IPL owning some of the franchises here, they bring across some international players,” said Australia’s Matthew Short, the player of the match for Washington in a victory over Texas. “As the tournament gets on the next couple of years, I think it’s important we get those players here and really bring up the local guys here as well.”
Priyank Shah, a native of India who has been working and studying in the US for six years, shouted towards the players he recognised as they walked to and from the locker room. There were plenty of them.
Besides Indian players, the other players who are playing here, they are like rock stars, said Shah, who lives in the Dallas area, the metropolitan region that is seeing explosive growth in its Asian population.
The first eight matches in the sixteam tournament were in Texas, with seven more set for Morrisville, North Carolina. The event returns to the Dallas area for the elimination games, with the championship ending on Sunday (30).
For now, the league’s six cities - Washington, Seattle, New York and San Francisco included – are merely represented by the players. The goal is a home-and-home league, with 30 matches per team spanning roughly two months, but that’s several years off. Mehta said the clubs are contractually obligated to open venues within five years. The 2024 plan calls for another tournament format, perhaps with two more venues. And organisers hope to build off the T20 World Cup, which will be held in part in the US for the first time.
Geale is hopeful cricket will be added as an Olympic sport for 2028, when the Games are in Los Angeles. “All of a sudden, we’ve got this fiveyear growth programme for the sport,” Geale said. “A big part of what we’re trying to do is strengthen the USA national team.”
Another part of the growth plan is more grass roots, which Mehta said will take time. Youth and recreational leagues will be crucial to the US becoming more competitive internationally. And while Houston has a strong enough presence in cricket to have hosted training camps leading to the Major League Cricket debut, the league will need similar facilities in the six cities with teams.
“The odds are stacked against us,” Geale said. “We’re trying to launch a new sport in a country that doesn’t know it needs it. I think we need to be realistic. But I think if we can showcase how cool we think the game is, if we can put out a really good TV product, we can get that to people in America and the world to show this is going to work.”
There are plenty of examples of how Geale and Mehta want to Americanise the sport. One of the best is the ball going into the stands for the cricket version of a home run – all of them are homers since the game is played over all 360 degrees of a circular field. “Baseball fans are used to keeping those balls. Cricket fans are conditioned to throw them back because of the sanctity of play is the same ball has to be used unless of course (it’s) out of shape,” Mehta said.
One day, Geale would love for fans to keep the balls. For now, he was worried about that for the debut – but didn’t need to be. Fans promptly tossed the balls back, which made sense considering what Mehta said about marketing. The target for the debut was ex-patriots of countries in South Asia and the Caribbean, along with Australia and New Zealand. That’s another part of the shortterm plan.
“What I would love to do is for these fans to quickly bring their friends, family, associates, colleagues along to a game and have them sample this,” Mehta said. “But it’s OK if it takes another year. And by next year, we’ll be doing a lot of general marketing, trying to reach out to mainstream American sports fans.”
There were a few of those fans in the tournament’s first few days, including Dan Strick. The Dallas-area resident who got hooked on cricket through TV about a year ago brought his son to see a match.
“Based on a year and-a-half of experience, I’ve only watched the best teams in the world play,” Strick said. “So, obviously this might be a little poorer. But it’s still fun.”
INDIA batting great Rahul Dravid has stepped down as head coach of Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals after just one season with them, the franchise said on Saturday (30).
Dravid, 52, was offered a "broader position" after a structural review of the team set-up but the former Indian captain declined the offer, the franchise said in a statement.
"Head coach Rahul Dravid will conclude his tenure with the franchise ahead of IPL 2026," it said.
Dravid had returned to the team as head coach ahead of this year's T20 tournament, but Rajasthan failed to make the playoffs and ended a dismal ninth in the 10-team table.
"Rahul has been central to the Royals' journey over many years," the inaugural IPL champions said.
"His leadership has influenced a generation of players, built strong values within the squad, and left an indelible mark on the culture of the franchise."
Dravid first joined Rajasthan as a player in 2011 and captained them for two seasons in 2012 and 2013.
The announcement comes amid rumours that captain Sanju Samson also wants to leave the franchise. Should Samson also depart, it would leave the Royals in a challenging position just months before the mini-auction.
He served as a team director in 2014 and as mentor a year later. Dravid scored 13,288 runs in 164 Test matches in a glittering career before hanging his boots in 2012.
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Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga celebrates after taking the wicket of Bangladesh's captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz during the first one-day international (ODI) cricket match at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on July 2, 2025. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
SRI LANKA have picked Wanindu Hasaranga in their Twenty20 squad for the Asia Cup next month though the all-rounder has been ruled out of the tour of Zimbabwe as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Hasaranga sustained the injury during the home series against Bangladesh in July and the injury will keep him out of Sri Lanka's limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe beginning on Friday (29).
A leg-spinner who is also a handy batter down the order, Hasaranga will replace Dushan Hemantha from the squad in Zimbabwe.
Apart from Hasaranga, Sri Lanka will have strong spin options in Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana.
Angelo Mathews, who quit test cricket earlier this year but remains available in shorter formats, did not make the cut for the 16-member Asia Cup squad led by Charith Asalanka.
Another ex-captain, Dasun Shanaka, has been picked as a seam-bowling all-rounder.
The six-time champions will begin their Group B campaign against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 13.
INDIA and England have named their squads for the upcoming Women’s World Cup, with several surprise selections and omissions, highlighting the competitive nature of the tournament.
India’s squad announcement brought disappointment for explosive opener Shafali Verma, who was left out after a poor run of form. The 21-year-old, who last played a oneday international in October 2024, has managed just one half-century in six innings for India A.
Women’s team chief selector Neetu David insisted the door remained open for Verma, saying: “She’s in the system, not like she’s not. We’ve got our eyes on her. Hope she plays a lot more and garners experience, it’ll help serve India in the 50-overs format.”
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the 15-member Indian squad as they seek their first World Cup title after reaching two previous finals. “We didn’t want to make a lot of changes, we wanted continuity,” said Kaur, who will be leading India in the World Cup for the first time.
Nat Sciver-Brunt
The selectors welcomed back medium-pace bowler Renuka Thakur after a lengthy injury lay-off, adding experience to an attack that will be crucial on home pitches. India’s campaign begins on September 30, and they will warm up with three ODI matches against Australia.
England’s squad features the return of former captain Heather Knight despite her not playing since damaging her hamstring in May. Current coach Charlotte Edwards expressed her delight at Knight’s inclusion, saying: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to select her. She’ll be a huge asset for us.”
However, experienced seamer Kate Cross has been left out as England adapt their strategy for subcontinental conditions. Edwards has included four specialist spinners – Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Charlie Dean, and the returning Sarah Glenn – expecting plenty of turn on Indian and Sri Lankan pitches.
England enter the tournament seeking to end an eightyear drought since their last ODI World Cup triumph on home soil in 2017. They underperformed badly at last year’s T20 World Cup and will be eager to make amends. The announcements come as organisers scramble to relocate matches originally scheduled for Bengaluru in India following safety concerns at the city’s stadium.
The opening match between cohosts India and Sri Lanka will now take place in Guwahati instead of Bengaluru, after the International Cricket Council cited “unforeseen circumstances” for moving games away from Chinnaswamy Stadium. The venue change follows a tragic incident in June when 11 cricket fans died during celebrations for IPL champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with supporters as young as 14 crushed to death outside the stadium gates. A judicial commission subsequently deemed the ground “unsafe” to host large crowds.
The tournament faces logistical challenges beyond the Bengaluru venue change. Pakistan will play all their matches in Colombo as part of a compromise arrangement, while the final will now be held in either Mumbai or Colombo rather than the originally planned Bengaluru.
England squad: Nat Sciver-Brunt (CK), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wk), Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
The 13th edition of the Women’s World Cup runs till November 2, with Mumbai now joining the list of Indian venues alongside Guwahati and other cities, plus Colombo in Sri Lanka.
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Gukesh, as the reigning world champion, is not in the Candidates race, and his participation will be for prize money and rating points.
GOA will host the Chess World Cup from October 30 to November 27. The FIDE World Cup 2025 carries a prize fund of USD 2 million and offers three qualifying spots for next year’s Candidates tournament.
The 206-player field includes world champion D Gukesh, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa. However, Gukesh, as the reigning world champion, is not in the Candidates race, and his participation will be for prize money and rating points.
India has 21 players in the list, among them five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, who qualified through the June 2025 FIDE rating list. Anand has not played classical chess for some time, leaving uncertainty over his participation.
The event returns to India after 23 years. It was last held in Hyderabad in 2002, when Anand won the title. Indian chess has since expanded, with players like Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin among the qualified entries.
The World Cup will follow a two-game knockout format over eight rounds. Each round consists of two classical games, with rapid and blitz tie-breaks if required. The top 50 seeds will start from the second round with byes, while players ranked 51 to 206 will face off in the first round on top-half vs bottom-half pairings.
“Every round is win-or-go-home, making the World Cup one of the most dramatic tournaments on the calendar,” FIDE said on its website on Tuesday.
FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich said, “India has become one of the strongest chess nations, with outstanding players and passionate fans. After the success of the FIDE Women's World Cup held in Georgia earlier this year, we are proud to bring the FIDE World Cup to Goa.”
“It will be a celebration of chess, and a unique experience for players and spectators from around the world. The representatives of 90+ countries are expected to take part, and it will be one of the most followed events in chess history,” he added.
AICF president Nitin Narang said, “The World Cup will not only inspire millions across the country but also showcase India's growing stature as a global hub for chess.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
INDIA on Wednesday said Ahmedabad would be an "ideal" venue for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, as the country seeks to strengthen its case to host the 2036 Olympics.
Ahmedabad, the main city in prime minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat, has a 130,000-capacity stadium, the largest cricket arena in the world, named after him.
The cabinet approved India's bid for the 2030 Games on Wednesday. India had already submitted a letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee last year for the 2036 Olympics.
India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, its capital.
"Ahmedabad is an ideal host city offering world-class stadiums, cutting-edge training facilities, and a passionate sporting culture," a cabinet statement said.
"Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, has already demonstrated its capability by successfully hosting the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Final," it added.
Nigeria and at least two other nations are reported to be interested in hosting the Games. The event faced challenges after Victoria, Australia, withdrew from hosting the 2026 edition citing costs. Glasgow has since agreed to stage a smaller version.
The host city for 2030 will be decided in November.
India has said that if it secures the bid, the Games will be held as a "full-fledged" event. This would also feature sports like kabaddi and kho kho, which India has been advocating to include in the Olympics.
India, with a population of 1.4 billion, has won only 10 Olympic gold medals in its history.