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    STUMP VISION                                                             JUNE 27, 2025     |  The Indian Eye 44

               MLC Season 3: Cricket Takes

                       Root in the American Soil

            LA 2028. Season 3 of Major League Cricket. See the parallel? See the connection?

            DR NILESH MEHTA

                   ow, with a new home at the historic Oak-
                   land Coliseum, something bigger is taking
            Nshape. Is it all coming together?
                We’ll find out. But one thing is clear: a “new”
            sport — well, sort of — is knocking loudly on the
            doors of the American sports landscape. Cricket
            has arrived. And this time, it means business.
                Cognizant Major League Cricket (MLC) is
            the premier professional T20 cricket league in the
            United States. It showcases world-class talent and
            delivers  high-quality  cricket  experiences  to  fans
            nationwide. Exclusively sanctioned by USA Crick-
            et, MLC features superstar players from across the
            globe. Six franchises currently compete: the Los
            Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Fran-
            cisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings,
            and Washington Freedom.
                A new tree has been planted in this crowded
            arena of American sports. Like all young trees, it
            will need care, water, and time. It will need youth-
            ful energy. Vision. Patience. After all, soccer once
            stood where cricket now stands. Over the decades,
            soccer was watered, fertilized, and nurtured. Now,
            it’s blooming.
                But here’s the lingering question: Can a sport
            truly thrive in the U.S. if only a committed diaspo-
            ra keeps it alive?
                Perhaps not.
                People  often  talk  about  “grassroots”  and
            “mainstream”  as  separate  stages.  They’re  right.
            But the roots of cricket lovers in America often lie
            far away — in India, Pakistan, the Caribbean, New
            Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. The attempt
            now is to recreate that emotion, that madness, in
            American soil.                                 The writer with a few of the legends who have been invited by MLC — Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, and Adam Gilchrist
                In that sense, the cricket diaspora is like a bee.
            It crosses oceans, carrying the pollen of passion,
            hoping to plant something that blooms in foreign   vast and climatically diverse country, cricket can’t   stability over national duty?
            fields. With time, those flowers — the cheers, the   be played everywhere year-round. Chicago, for   We  say,  “Make  hay  while  the  sun  shines.”
            rivalries, the stars — might just bear fruit.  instance, has a thriving cricket-loving population.   But what if you’re in Seattle, where the sun rarely
                Season 3 of MLC began with a bang, and that   But nature isn’t always kind to outdoor sports in   obliges? In Phoenix, yes — it shines nearly every
            helps. New Zealand’s Finn Allen didn’t just an-  winter. That’s why MLC has strategically chosen   day. But sport, like life, has its rainy seasons.
            nounce his arrival — he thundered it across the   cricket-friendly climates — for now. This doesn’t   The Club vs Country dilemma won’t vanish.
            Oakland sky. His 151 off 51 balls was more than   mean Chicago won’t ever host high-level cricket.   But let’s stop calling these players unpatriotic.
            just a T20 masterclass. It was a sales pitch for crick-  It’s just about timing the bloom.  They’re not disloyal — they’re just looking after
            et in America.                                   And then there’s the ongoing debate — Club   their future.
                The second match between MINY and TSK     vs Country.                                     MLC will  keep  attracting  such  players.  And
            was full of action, including a baseball-like plunge   Athletes don’t have the luxury of time. Careers   one of them — Nicholas Pooran — has made
            at second base to avoid getting out. Three run-outs   are short. Not every cricketer transition into com-  headlines for choosing club over country. A proud
            and a three-run loss added flavor to the match at-  mentary like Sunil Gavaskar. Many simply fade   product of Naparima College in Trinidad, Pooran
            tended by 6,000 fans.                        into anonymity, struggling to make ends meet. So,   now captains MI New York. He’s not a deserter.
                Venue selection, too, has been brilliant. In a   can  we  really  blame  them  for  choosing  financial   He’s a professional with a plan.

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