Just as Major League Soccer got a huge boost when Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami, Major League Cricket hopes to draw more attention when Ravichandran Ashwin suits up for the San Francisco Unicorns this summer. The 39-year-old cricket legend, one of the most prolific spinners of all time, will be the first former Indian national team player to participate in the U.S. league that was founded just three years ago. Playing in a recent exhibition match in the Dallas-Fort Worth area convinced Ashwin to sign with the Unicorns.
“Just looking at the reception that the Asian diaspora was able to bring for that game just showed me what the potential of American cricket could very well be,” Ashwin told ESPN. “It’s very exciting.” Consisting of six teams, MLC will play all its matches this year in Texas and California. The final, on July 18, will be played in Oakland Coliseum, former home of the NFL’s Raiders and MLB’s Athletics.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge. [Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.