Major League Cricket takes a big swing at the US

Cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports. Will a new league help it finally catch on in the US?

US batsman Gajanand Singh, right, and Shayan Jahangir on the pitch during their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier match against the Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club in Harare, Zimbabwe,Monday June, 26, 2023
US batsman Gajanand Singh, right, and Shayan Jahangir on the pitch during their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier match against the Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club in Harare, Zimbabwe, Monday June, 26, 2023 [Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Photo]

Cricket has been estimated to have 2.5 billion fans worldwide, but it has struggled to win over the United States. But a new professional league is trying to change that: Major League Cricket. Featuring six teams and some heavy-hitting investors, its inaugural season starts this week. Immigrants from cricket-loving countries might already be on board, and MLC is looking to convert fans from American football, basketball and baseball.

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Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Fahrinisa Campana with Miranda Lin and our host Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Source: Al Jazeera

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