Major League Cricket teams and their IPL connection
The third edition of Major League Cricket is set to commence of June 13. The competition has been won by two teams - MI New York and Washington Freedom. A total of six teams compete for the title, with the others being Los Angeles Knight Riders, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, and Texas Super Kings.
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The similarity in names to certain franchises in the Indian Premier League (
) for a few teams in the MLC is not a coincidence.
There are direct connections between MLC teams and the IPL franchises. Four MLC teams - MI NY, Texas Super Kings, Los Angeles Knight Riders and Seattle Orcas are either directly owned or co-owned by IPL franchises.
Los Angeles Knight Riders & Kolkata Knight Riders : The MLC team is owned by Knight Riders Sports Private Limited (KRSPL). KRSPL also owns the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, who are three-time IPL champions, with their most recent win coming in 2024. Also known as the Knight Riders group, KRSPL also owns Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Trinbago Knight Riders.
MI New York and Mumbai Indians : Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians are owned by Indiawin Sports. The same parent organisation owns the MI franchise in the MLC. The Indiawin company is a 100% subsidiary of Reliance Industries. MI NY became the inaugural champions of the MLC in 2023.
Shubman Gill story: From a remote village near the border to India's Test captain
Texas Super Kings and Chennai Super Kings : Five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings have a connection with the Texas based MLC franchise. The Texas Super Kings are co-owned by Chennai Super Kings Cricket, Ross Perot Jr., and Anurag Jain. In the two seasons, TSK have been a constant presence in the MLC playoffs, qualifying in both editions. However, unlike the title-winning spree of CSK, TSK are yet to make the final.
Seattle Orcas and Delhi Capitals : Despite not bearing any resemblance in their names, the Seattle Orcas are closely related to IPL franchise Delhi Capitals. The Capitals are co-owned by GMR group and JSW Sports. The Orcas are also co-owned by GMR, alongside Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Samir Bodas, Ashok Krishnamurthi, and Sanjay Parthasarathy.
Poll
Which team do you think will win the 2025 Major League Cricket title?
MI New York Washington Freedom Texas Super Kings Los Angeles Knight Riders
Several stars that compete in the IPL also ply their trade in the MLC. Notably, 2023 MLC top scorer Nicholas Pooran plays for MI New York in the MLC and Lucknow Super Giants in the 2025 IPL. Faf du Plessis, the leading run-getter in MLC 2024, dons the jersey of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025.
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