Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft and a part-owner of the Seattle Sounders franchise in Major League Soccer, has been introduced as a lead investor in a $44 million Series A and A1 fundraising spherical by Major League Cricket (MLC), the six-team franchise T20 competitors sanctioned by USA Cricket by way of its business companion ACE, which is focused to launch in 2023.
“The significant funding committed by an outstanding group of investors will allow Major League Cricket to build first-class facilities and accelerate the sport’s development across the country, bringing world-class professional cricket to the world’s largest sports market,” mentioned Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, co-founders of Major League Cricket, by way of a press launch. “This investor group comprises leading business executives and successful tech entrepreneurs who have led some of the world’s most prominent companies. They bring tremendous experience and expertise in support of MLC’s plans to launch a transformative Twenty20 league and establish America as one of the world’s leading homes for international cricket events.”
Nadella and Soma Somasegar, a former long-time senior vice chairman at Microsoft who’s at the moment the managing director of enterprise capital agency Madrona Venture Group, are majority buyers primarily based out of Seattle. It is there {that a} new stadium venue undertaking is being spearheaded at Marymoor Park within the Seattle suburb of Redmond, Washington. When that venue is full, it’s anticipated to be the house of one of many six anchor franchises for MLC.
“I share the vision Major League Cricket has for the launch of a world-class T20 cricket league and the potential for the United States to become one of the leading cricket nations in the world,” Somasegar mentioned. “I am delighted to be part of a dynamic group of investors who will help the sport reach that level through an unprecedented commitment of resources by MLC to developing the sport.”
“The ceiling for cricket’s growth in the United States is incredibly high, with the passion for the game at the grassroots level I’ve observed in Texas proof of its potential,” Jain mentioned. “I am proud to be part of a group of investors committed to rapidly accelerating cricket’s progress through Major League Cricket. The plans MLC have laid out to develop infrastructure and build a foundation for professional cricket to thrive nationwide put the sport on a tremendous trajectory and I am excited to support this vision.”
Among the opposite headline buyers recruited by MLC are Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, the founding companions at Millways Ventures and Rocketship VC; Sanjay Govil, the founding father of Infinite Computer Solutions and CEO of Zyter; the Baheti Family, the homeowners of YASH Technologies; and Tanweer Ahmed, the CEO of PAK Foods and the proprietor of the Prairie View Cricket Complex, the biggest turf wicket complicated in America positioned 50 miles northwest of Houston which opened in 2019 and has been usually used to host USA Cricket nationwide championship tournaments. As a part of Ahmed’s PAK Foods model, the entrepreneur and cricket fanatic owns greater than 200 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell franchises unfold between Texas, Colorado and Las Vegas.
ESPNcricinfo has realized that the opposite three MLC anchor franchise places for the league’s focused launch date in 2023 are anticipated to be in San Francisco, New York and Washington, DC. However, there are at the moment no turf wicket venues positioned within the two east coast places as MLC officers proceed to pursue choices as regards to land acquisition and venue improvement in these territories.
