Franchise cricket is becoming increasingly popular day by day. Among the T20 franchise-based leagues, India’s IPL, Bangladesh’s BPL, Sri Lanka’s LPL, Pakistan’s PSL, and West Indies’ CPL have been receiving ‘List A’ status.
Now, the United States’ Major League Cricket (MLC) has joined their ranks. This franchise cricket league has received ICC recognition and will now enjoy ‘List A’ status. Previously, the ICC required host countries to be Test-playing nations to receive ‘List A’ status.
However, the world cricket governing body has recently relaxed this condition. Following the granting of ‘List A’ status to the United Arab Emirates’ IL T20 league last December, MLC has now received this status. Justin Geale, the director of Major League Cricket, is quite thrilled with the ICC’s recognition.
He told ESPN Cricinfo, “We are truly excited about this news. It’s actually a recognition of the high quality of the players participating in this tournament. It will significantly increase the acceptance of sports in the United States.”
With ‘List A’ status, Major League Cricket will now be considered an official T20 league. As a result, all records and statistics of Major League Cricket will now be counted under an internationally recognized format.
MLC stated in a release, “Now every century, half-century, ‘five-for’, run-out, win, loss, and championship played will be officially recorded as career statistics under an internationally recognized format.” Additionally, the ‘List A’ status comes after MLC’s successful inaugural season and emphasizes its unwavering dedication to providing premier cricket in the United States.
The matches for MLC’s second season will start on July 5th, just one week after the end of the T20 World Cup. This season, Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh will play for the LA Knight Riders.
