Six teams will be in action in Major League Cricket 2024, scheduled to be held in the USA’s Texas and North Carolina from 5th to 28th July.
MLC will hold its second edition after the inaugural edition took place last year.
MI New York are the defending champions. They defeated Seattle Orcas in the MLC 2023 final to claim the first Major League Cricket title.
The MLC 2024 season opener will see a rematch of last year’s final as MI New York take on Seattle Orcas once again at Church Street Park in North Carolina.
Later on the same day, Texas Super Kings will host the LA Knight Riders at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas.
The six teams will compete in 21 matches in a round-robin league format. The initial 15 matches will be split between the two venues - Church Street Park and Grand Prairie Stadium. However, the final six group matches and the knockout fixtures will all be held at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas.
The teams will face each other once in the league phase, after which the top four sides will progress to the playoffs. The MLC 2024 final will take place at the Grand Prairie Stadium on 29th July.
Four of the six MLC teams are owned by franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL). These include MI New York (Mumbai Indians), Texas Super Kings (Chennai Super Kings), LA Knight Riders (Kolkata Knight Riders), and the Seattle Orcas (Delhi Capitals). The other two teams are San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom.
All six teams will feature some top international cricketers in their squads for MLC 2024. MI New York boast former West Indian captain Kieron Pollard in their roster, while South African duo Wayne Parnell and Quinton de Kock will represent Seattle Orcas.
The Texas Super Kings squad is led by South African star Faf du Plessis, while West Indian off-spinner Sunil Narine will lead the LA Knight Riders.
Washington Freedom, coached by Ricky Ponting, boasts a strong Australian contingent with Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and Travis Head in their ranks. New Zealand batter Finn Allen has joined the San Francisco Unicorns.