Major League Cricket’s expansion plan poses a threat to

US-based tournament will expand from six to 10 teams‘In 10 years you’ll see a different landscape,’ says chief executive

Major League Cricket has announced ambitious new expansion plans for the sport in the USA. In a move that will have significant implications for the landscape of the professional sport in England, MLC, which began with a 19-game season, has confirmed it will expand to 34 games by 2025. The league currently includes six franchises but plans to launch two more in the near future, and two more soon after that. The announcement comes just after MLC has been fully legitimised by the news that its matches have been awarded List A status by the International Cricket Council.

“It was always intended to be a 10 team league,” MLC’s chief executive, Vijay Srinivasan, told the Guardian. “Studies show that we are a big enough country, with a big enough demographic to support 10 teams, so that’s our plan. We had 19 games in our first season, will have 25 in our second. I think we want to get to 34 next year, and just gradually keep expanding.” The second season, which starts at the end of the World T20, runs for 23 days and overlaps with the Hundred. Next year’s edition will be significantly longer and start earlier. Srinivasan said MLC is keen to play in June.