Following in the footsteps of the Kolkata Knight Riders, three more IPL clubs, the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings, and the Delhi Capitals, have entered the enticing Major League Cricket (MLC). All three of the aforementioned IPL franchises have invested in the newly formed league, which is expected to begin in July 2023.
The current arrangement implies that four IPL franchises will be directly involved in the six-team event. Whereas KKR, one of the early players, will be situated in Los Angeles, CSK will be based in Texas, Mumbai Indians in New York, and Delhi Capitals in Seattle.
The Delhi Capitals, who are co-owned by GMR Sports Private Ltd and Jindal Sports West, will administer the Seattle-based team in collaboration with GMR and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Soma Somasegar (managing director of Madrona Ventures), Samir Bodas (co-founder and CEO of Icertis), Ashok Krishnamurthi (managing partner of GreatPoint Ventures), and Sanjay Parthasarathy have also contributed to the Seattle Orcas franchise (a former senior executive at Microsoft and Avalara).
The participation of IPL teams in the MLC is just another sign of the IPL clubs’ desire to achieve worldwide reputation outside of the subcontinent. The four participating IPL owners have previously invested in foreign domestic competitions, MI (SA20 and ILT20), KKR (CPL and ILT20), DC (ILT20 and SA20) and CSK (SA20).
