Major League Cricket Events in 2026
Published - 25 Jul 2025, 01:14 PM | Updated - 25 Jul 2025, 11:41 PM
In terms of cricket history, Major League Cricket is an infant. Yet, it is a prodigious child of this beautiful sport. At the moment, cricket is nowhere near as popular as some other sports in North America. Baseball, basketball, NFL, hockey and soccer are far beyond it. Cricket is aiming to get there, but with only three seasons to boats, it has a long way to go. Yet, the enthusiasm around the sport and MLC is high, and we all know what Americans can do when they put effort and minds to it.
The best part about the MLC is that it has full backing from the Indian Premier League. The majority of franchises have ties or ownership steaming from India, and we all know that Indians know a thing or two about cricket. Before Major League Cricket gets even near the popularity of NBA, MLB, NFL, or NHL, it will try to reach the heights of IPL, or at least the Australian Big Bash league.
So, if you've been having worries about the MLC folding or anything similar, leave your worries behind. This league is on another trajectory, and you will need Major League Cricket expert picks and predictions next year too. With all that is transpiring to happen in 2026, you'll be needing them more than ever. For all the misinformation circling around, cricket is much more popular in the States than one is inclined to believe.
It is almost prophetic that cricket is having its resurgence in the USA during these years. For all of you uninformed, the 2028 Olympics are tied to the city of Los Angeles. The most popular city in the universe will be home to all of the world's top athletes for a warm summer in 2028. Why is this important? Well, cricket will once again be an Olympic sport, after a century long absence. It is expected that by 2028, the MLC and the USA national cricket team are going to be levels above what they are today.
While this is amazing news, it gets even better for the American fans of cricket before 2028 and the Los Angeles Olympics come around. The league is about to hit on its first expansion. So far, MLC is a small league by all standards. The work on expanding it is already on the way. So far, we have six franchises: Los Angeles Knight Riders, Texas Super Knights, Seattle Orcas, Washington Freedom, and MI New York. In coming years the number will go from six to eight, before settling on ten until 2027, with an eye of adding more teams as the quality of the competition rises steadily.
As said, the work on expansion is already underway, with a few cities where teams might be added already shortlisted. We're talking about Chicago, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. The interesting part is that Canada is also in the mix with Toronto being the most obvious choice. What you can already notice is that cities on the shortlist are those that have rich and vibrant South Asian communities. By choosing these cities, MLC does not even risk empty venues early on, but even guarantees that stadiums will be packed from the first round after expansion.
The ambition surrounding this project is so high, and not without merit, that it has some other international leagues worried to their bones. First of all, the MLC has been fully recognized by the ICC and received the coveted List A status. Considering that the MLC games are scheduled at the same time as the ECB Premier Leagues which are the English/Welsh domestic cricket competition. This conflict of schedules is of little concern for Major League Cricket as their goal was to have the competition being a spring one, with the only reason for the summer schedule being the T20 World Cup.
The goal is to slot the MLC right after the Indian Premier League is done in May, so the early June is the ideal time for a new cricket competition which could then attract international audiences, and make the sport a popular draw for American television too. Next year, with the addition of more teams, the MLC tournament will be longer, with more games, and a need for a better schedule, so playing in June is the only option not to conflict with some more popular leagues at the moment. With the direction the league has taken the fans' interest in Major League Cricket games will be through the roof in coming seasons.
The English/Welsh cricket league has all the reasons to be worried by the rapid MLC growth. After all, in no time, some of the top European players might want to work in the USA during this part of the season. The first player to express such a desire was Jason Roy who signed with LA Knight Riders after forfeiting his England contract. Sunil Narine did the same after he skipped on his international duties due to being preoccupied playing for the LA Knight Riders. It is expected that more high end players will be looking to spend a few months a year playing for American franchises due to the exposure, to keep their form up, and of course for the payday.
It is not to be forgotten that MLC has all the backing from the IPL. The investors who are looking to grow cricket in the USA are the same ones who are leading the world's premier cricket franchises in India and the IPL. Those with stakes in both include the Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Delhi Capitals. We're talking about people who mean business, and while cricket is not on the level in the USA on which it is in India, looking to establish a strong domestic competition as a base for future foundation, is the way to go.
What has made MLC so successful up to this date is the fact that no one expected for success to arrive overnight. Instead, steady growth as intended from the get go. Early investors, fans, and players alike have all been patient, and their patience has been awarded so far. In the future, they will have even more reasons to look forward to every Major League Cricket season. So far, the league has already put in the work regarding youth academies, and minor league systems. Both are working full steam ahead on developing the new wave of domestic cricket players. In addition to having top tier talent available, the league is also looking to add more venues together with new teams. The number of List A venues in the USA is limited at the moment, which is to be expected due to the lesser popularity of this sport.
Next year, and in years beyond 2026, we are expected to see more and more cricket infrastructure added across the locations in the USA. It is not seen as a short term project by the
people running the show. Instead they tend to create a long term project that will last a lifetime. So far, the goal is to change the cricket landscape in America during the next decade. The system put in place will make it much easier to create a home and away league schedule which will in return create more fans. The work on adding more quality players is already underway and all the results of the work out today will be seen in the future.
Part of the dreamed future is already upon us. Sports betting in regard to cricket and MLC is trending on sports betting outlets such as Stake.com and with more teams and games added in the future, this market will grow even further. By 2027, we will have a completely different MLC landscape on our hands, especially if the proposed Canadian franchise is added to the mix. At the moment, the focus remains on cities of Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta with Toronto being a true reality option.
The city that leads the race at the moment is Chicago. The determining factors that play a vital role in selecting the expansion teams and cities are the support from local authorities, strong cultural bond with the sport from local communities with an accent on South Asian communities, and market potential. Chicago has all of the premises, and is well known as a city in love with sports through its historically massive franchises such as the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Blackhawks.
The biggest support every new MLC franchise would have to receive is in terms of aid for building a stadium which would be suited for a List A cricket league. The league officials have already held a few meetings with authorities from Chicago, and from the available information all conversations have gone well. Whether Chicago will be the first city to receive a new cricket team in the MLC remains to be seen but they are in the pole position at the moment.
In the coming months two cities will be selected and we're going to have two new teams added to the MLC caravan. Among the cities currently owning cricket franchises in the USA, only Seattle is seen as small markets, while the markets of Washington, New York, Los Angeles,
San Francisco and Texas are seen as massive. Yet, despite the goal to put the franchises where the fan base already exists, the league will be looking to expand even beyond those areas.
Because of this, it remains unclear whether the new teams will be from one of the major areas of Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, or Philadelphia, or there are some choices we are not aware of.
What remains clear is that the league is looking to add more teams, more games, and more dates to the competition. In the future they plan to have a system where all teams play each other twice. A home and away season is what MLC is going to look like in the future, and the leaders of Major League Cricket believe that a league format that has both home and away fixtures will attract more neutral fans, as well as creating more loyalty among the existing ones.
By looking at other sports in the USA it is evident that cricket has plenty of room to grow still. After all, leagues such as the NBA and NFL have teams across 28 cities. With MLC only having six, the growth is not only a necessity but it is also imminent. All that needs to happen is that the league and the representative of local taxpayers make it possible for new venues to arise.
Grand Prairie Stadium and Oakland Coliseum have shown that there are existing venues that can be great homes for cricket games.
It is evident that repurposing a ground rather than building it from scratch could have advantage when a selection is made, who will receive the new MLC franchises. Many cities could be motivated to seek this bid, as cricket is making the biggest comeback possible on the global scale as after a 128-year drought the sports will feature at Olympics. For a city outside of LA to be able to host the Olympics through cricket might be an offer too good to pass on. Considering how much cricket is popular all over the world, we can see the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics being a great addition to the popularity of the sport in America.
So far, Major League Cricket has been a revelation. The league has grown so much in three years since its inception in both the quality of the on field product but also through the number of fans at venues and those tuning in to see it on television. When you add the plans that MLC plans to be slotted between the IPL and other T20 tournaments/leagues active during the summer, the number of casual viewers who are watching due to betting will also increase. As far as can be told so far, Major League Cricket has been one massive jackpot, and it will only get better in 2026 and beyond.
