Courtesy: MLC
The New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is set to become the first full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), to invest and launch a franchise in the overseas league. The NZC has signed an agreement with the US-based company True North Sports Ventures (TNS), wherein they will launch a new franchise in the Major League Cricket (MLC), played in the United States, and it will debut in the 2027 season of the league.
Notably, as per the report published by NZC on their official website, the co-founders of MLC, namely Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan are also the majority owners of entities holding the exclusive rights to own and operate two expansion franchises in the league. As part of that, the TNS will launch the first franchise in collaboration with the NZC in the MLC expansion, with it set to be based in either Atlanta, the USA, or Toronto, Canada.
This agreement marks a unique and exciting milestone for NZC: Scott Weenink
With their first-of-its-kind agreement, the NZC is going to provide high-performance and operational support to the new MLC franchise, which will include coaching, management, and support staff, apart from integrating it into their domestic ecosystem. Also, in the second phase of developing the MLC franchise alongside the TNS, the NZC will provide cricket infrastructure and turf management expertise in particular.
Moreover, the NZC is now the foundation investor in the TNS, which will give them the opportunity to make regular equity investment in it before the end of the ongoing year 2025. The governing body of cricket in New Zealand will also have a chance to work with MLC co-founders in regards to other strategies opportunities, which might pertain to launching the second franchise in the league planned for the year 2031 as part of the expansion plan.
Scott Weenink, the NZC chief executive, was quoted as saying, “This agreement marks a unique and exciting milestone for NZC. As franchise cricket grows globally, NZC needs to adapt to seize strategic opportunities that ensure the sustainability of our cricket network. This helps diversify our revenue streams, expands our global brand and fan base, and creates new talent development and retention pathways for both our players and coaches.”
