USA Major League Cricket will host their inaugural season draft in Houston
Houston, Texas, March 19 (IANS): The first-ever draft for USA’s inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) season will be held on Monday (Sunday – CST) at Space Center Houston, located at NASA Johnson Space Center.
In the tournament, which will be held this summer, six teams will choose their players by draft. Several Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners have invested in or worked with major league cricket teams, including the Kolkata Knight Riders (Los Angeles), Chennai Super Kings (Texas) and Delhi Capitals (Seattle).
Several MLC teams have revealed their team names and logos ahead of draft, along with powerful partnerships with some of the world’s top cricket companies. Selected foreign star players for each time will also be announced soon, according to a media release on Sunday.
The Seattle Orcas hold the first pick for the Domestic Player Draft following a random draw held March 13 at the Westin Oaks Houston in front of team representatives.
The Washington Freedom picks second, followed by the New York franchise, the San Francisco Unicorns, the Los Angeles Knight Riders, and the Texas MLC team (later named). Teams select nine homegrown players to form the backbone of their rosters.
The draft is conducted in a “snake order” format, which means that the team that picks last in the first round gets the first pick in the second round. The draft lasts nine rounds. Trading picks is not permitted.
Each team has three minutes in rounds one through five and two minutes in rounds six through nine to make their picks. The ninth round will consist of a selection of beginners (U23). If an U-23 player is selected by a team in rounds one through eight, that team must also select an U-23 player in the ninth round.
After the conclusion of the first half of the Minor League Cricket (MiLC) season, another round of the draft will take place in early July, allowing teams to select an additional player based on performances during the MiLC season.
This player will be added to the overall team roster. Two additional U-23 players, serving in development roles for each squad, will also be selected to give young players further opportunities to meet with some of the world’s top T20 cricketers and coaching teams.
The league’s historic opening game will be played on July 13, 2023 at the newly constructed major league cricket ground, Grand Prairie Stadium, in Grand Prairie, Texas.
The 2023 season will feature 19 games played over 18 days, building up to the first-ever MLC Championship Finals on July 30, 2023. More information on the MLC schedule and broadcast details will be announced later.
Cricket fans in India can watch the MLC draft on live television on Sports18-1, with Jio Cinema being the show’s digital home. Pakistan’s A Sports TV will also broadcast the draft. Fans can also watch the draft live via a special broadcast worldwide on the MLC Network’s YouTube channel and the ESPN Cricinfo homepage.
