Knight Riders part of US T20 event

THE Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, co-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan (above), has become a key partner in the bid to launch Major League Cricket in the United States, the team said on Tuesday (1).

The two-time IPL champions have signed on for a “long-term strategic partnership (that) will include financial investment and significant expertise”, the statement said.

Major League Cricket, featuring six citybased franchises, is aiming to launch in 2022, bringing “worldclass T20 cricket to America for the very first time”, it added.

“For several years now, we have been expanding the Knight Riders brand globally and closely watching the potential for T20 cricket in the US,” Khan said in the statement.

“We are convinced that Major League Cricket has all the pieces in place to execute its plans, and we look forward to making our partnership an enormous success.”

The announcement did not say whether the Knight Riders will hold a controlling stake in the new Twenty20 league whose parent company, American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), aims to bring in top players from around the world to particpipate in the event.

ACE last month said an unused baseball stadium in Texas will be converted into a permanent cricket venue as part of plans to bring the T20 World Cup to America by 2031.

Efforts to popularise cricket in the US have been sporadic. In 2015, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar and Australian spin legend Shane Warne played an AllStars series in New York, Houston and Los Angeles.

In September, American fast bowler Ali Khan joined the Knight Riders at the IPL in United Arab Emirates, but was unable to play because of injury.

Khan, 29, played a key role in the US gaining ODI status at the World Cricket League Division Two event in Namibia last year.