MLC FAQs: Everything you need to know about the American cricket revolution
By MI New York Media
Revolution. It’s not a term to be thrown around lightly. In the context of the American cricket ecosystem, what’s waiting to happen is a revolution and a half! MI New York is here. The Major League Cricket (MLC) is here. As we get ready to get cracking for the next three weeks and hit the ground, this is your cheat sheet for all the doubts you might have.
Wait … What’s happening in the USA?
Professional cricket is officially being launched in the USA. In a first-of-its-kind franchise tournament, six teams will battle it out in a three-week-long tournament. With the goal of bringing world-class cricket to the USA, the MLC has partnered with USA Cricket to enhance competition and develop skills across the country.
Who’s playing then? What’s the format?
Six teams – MI New York, Texas Super Kings and LA Knight Riders are extensions of their IPL franchises. Washington Freedom, San Francisco Unicorns, and Seattle Orcas are the other three. Each plays the other once, which translates into a five-team group stage, followed by the IPL-style play-offs (Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2, and the Final).
So home and away format then, right?
Nope. All the matches are set to be played across two venues in a caravan format. The Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas plays host to the first leg (three MI NY matches) and the play-offs before the action moves to Church Street Park, Morrisville for the second leg.
Okay, tell me more about MI New York
After Cape Town, Abu Dhabi and the entry into WPL, the MI family expansion has reached the US. The exciting city and most international city of New York is where the new team comes from. The city is known for its sporting teams right from the NY Mets, the NY Jets, the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets. It’s time we add MI New York to that list!
And our star-studded team will make you fall in love with it. Kieron Pollard is back in action as the skipper for the team. We boast of Steven Taylor, a true blue homegrown talent. Trent Boult, Nicholas Pooran, Tim David, Kagiso Rabada from the MI metaverse converge to make this all the more special.
I’m already excited. When’s it starting? When are we playing? And the timings?
Save the dates because we have an action-packed set of games coming up for you … And if you happen to be watching it from India or the eastern part of the globe, don’t forget to bring your favorite midnight snack because we are going to have to stay up late with these times. Or maybe an early morning breakfast packed with some sixes and fours from our batting order!
14th July | 15:30 PM CDT, 02:00 AM IST (15th July) | Grand Prairie Stadium
MI New York vs. San Francisco Unicorns
16th July | 19:30 PM CDT, 06:00 AM IST (17th July) | Grand Prairie Stadium
Los Angeles Knight Riders vs. MI New York
17th July | 19:30 PM CDT, 06:00 AM IST (18th July) | Grand Prairie Stadium
Texas Super Kings vs. MI New York
23rd July | 17:30 PM CDT, 04:00 AM IST (24th July) | Church Street Park
MI New York vs. Washington Freedom
25th July | 17:30 PM CDT, 04:00 AM IST (26th July) | Church Street Park
MI New York vs. Seattle Orcas
Right. Let’s get into the specifics now. What’s the local-overseas ratio?
In a move that’s set to bolster the USA players and allow a large number of them to rub shoulders with the international superstars on the field in crunch moments, thereby providing them a gold mine of experience, a maximum of six overseas players are allowed in every playing XI. And among the minimum of five local USA players on the side, a rookie/under-23 player is mandatory.
Tell us about our local players
The American National Team skipper Monank Patel, is also an integral part of MI New York. We have also got the very special Steven Taylor, who made history as the first USA-born player to be picked in the Draft. And You might have seen Sarbjeet Ladda before in his brief stints with the competitive franchises of Delhi Daredevils (2010), Kolkata Knight Riders (2011-13), and the Gujrat Lions (2016-17). Among the others, there’s a former engineer, a Bengaluru-bred all-rounder, and a local Queens-born lad.
Finally, where do I follow it?
If you’re watching it from India, the Viacom group has bagged the broadcast rights, which means JioCinema will stream digitally it and Sports18 will be your go-to broadcast channel. For all other exclusive MI NY related content, previews, reports, player features, videos, scorecards and stats, hop onto the minycricket.com website and follow all its social media handles.
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“It’s a tough pill to swallow”
It’s never easy knowing 266 wasn’t enough on the day. A record 29 sixes were hit by MI New York – the most ever in a T20 innings. On nights like these when lightning strikes twice, you don’t fight the powers. You just accept it wasn’t out night.“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Mark Boucher at the post-match press conference. “I think this ground is very small. In the beginning stages of the tournament, the wickets weren’t as good as they are now. It made bowling extremely tough. The dew factor at the backend of the game made bowling extremely tough for the bowlers and the fielders. But in saying that, we had our chances. If we had taken those chances, we could have built a bit of pressure. We knew when we scored our total, on a pitch that is good and small boundaries, if there was one team that could chase this down, it was these guys.”MI New York’s MLC 2026 campaign might have come to an end, but it was eventful and certainly memorable. We gained momentum and peaked at the right time, with all parts of the puzzle seemingly falling in place. “The one area where we’ve struggled throughout the tournament has been our batting. We haven’t got any flow in our batting in the tournament. Coming into the game today, even though we lost the last game, I thought there was something going there. Nicky’s (Pooran) knock was fantastic. Quinny (de Kock) got us off to a good start as well. Polly coming in. We put on a really good score and our batters did really well. In the middle stages of the tournament, our bowlers really kept us in the tournament,” he said. Whether it was Kieron Pollard pulling out matches from the dead, something he’s done for the Blue and Gold for over 17 years now, or whether it was Tajinder Dhillon’s cameos, or Rushil Ugarkar’s large-hearted bowling, Quinton de Kock’s typically Quinny-like starts, or a record-breaking final flourish, there certainly has been enough for us to celebrate. Let’s give it some time. When the disappointment withers, what will remain is pride, the pride we have in this side. This is MI city, this is MI team, we are MI New York. 17 Jul, 2026Celebrating a 106(33), that is enough on most days…
…Sadly, this wasn’t one of those. But when the dust settles and the disappointment of seeing a massive total being overhauled dies down, we’ll the pride in this MONSTER NICHOLAS POORAN knock. He loves these knockout games in the MLC, doesn’t he! Against the Washington Freedom in the Eliminator, he wasted no time settling in. The first ball was a single. Ball 2: SIXBall 3: SIXBall 4: SIXBall 5: FOURThis was followed by another 6, 4, 0, 6, 6, 6 to bring up his fifty off just 14 balls. None of them were mishits in any sense. Reading the bowling to perfection, he was happy to step out and go over long-off, pull away the short stuff, tonk them down the ground, cut them through point. Just peak, beast mode. He wasn’t backing down. Against Nikhil Chaudhary’s off-spin, he kept the fifth gear going. 6, 4, 1, 0, 4, 6, 4, 6 across two overs, and he had the fastest MLC century, off just 31 balls. He fell immediately after. All this inside the 12th over. Sheer madness was on display. Again, it might get forgotten given what happened in the second innings and how Washington chased down a mammoth total, but it was a knock for the ages nevertheless. Nicky P has added another feather that sits alongside his iconic 137* from 2023!16 Jul, 2026The Eliminator report: Crazy game, but ends in heartbreak :(
266 runs chased down. 51 sixes hit in the game. It’s probably a once in a lifetime moment, and the partnership of 241 runs in just 89 balls between Steven Smith and Andries Gous was again one of those, seen now, might never be seen again moments. Alas, it came against us in the Eliminator. A crazy game, but on the wrong side of the result.. Nicholas Pooran: 106 (33)“It wasn’t meant to be,” our skipper said at the post-match presentation. But his knock deserves all the appreciation. Five fours, 13 sixes, and a century off just 31 balls. It was peak Nicky P. Beast Nicky P. He was just unstoppable, smashing everything around for fun. Imagine a 24-ball 51 by Quinton de Kock felt like second fiddle! And then Polly goes wild!Pooran came, smashed, and was done by the 12th over. Kieron Pollard took it upon himself to carry the baton forward. With a 25-ball 64, he kept the shots coming, the sixes flowing, and ensured MINY finished strong. The final 266/9 came via Trent Boult and his 10-ball 22. That Smith-Gous stand On most days, a target of 267 is daunting enough. But lightning struck twice, first in the form of Pooran’s brilliant century, and then with Gous’ 51-ball 132 and Smith’s 48-ball 110. They rode their luck, but it just felt written in the stars. Ruing the missed chances 9.4: Smith gets a life 10.1: Smith gets put down again 10.6: Now Gous is dropped11.5: Both the bowler and the keeper miss a run-out chance In 13 balls, with four chances gone down, the signs were clear. It simply wasn’t our day. The batters then switched gears and went on a rampage, with 29 runs coming off the 13th over, 21 off the 14th and 31 off the 15th, virtually killing the game. This is where it ends. 2026 wasn’t to be. It’s a tough one to swallow. But once the dust settles, we’ll look back at how heartwarming this season has been with new heroes stepping up, older ones turning back the clock, and wins pulled off from nowhere. 15 Jul, 2026
