Pakistani businessman Tanweer Ahmed and Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan are among the leading investors in US Major League Cricket.
Major League Cricket is a US-based Twetny20 Cricket League that has completed a US$44million fundraising in Series A and A1. The next round is expected to raise US$76million in the next 12 months. MLC says it is endeavoring to deploy more than US$120 million to launch the first-ever cricket professional T20 league in the country.
MLC was expected to begin in 2021 but was delayed due to COVID-19. The league is now expected to be next year.
Investment for the league came from Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella, Venture Group Managing Director Soma Somasegar as well as Milliways Ventures and Rocketship VC founding partners Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan.
The lead investors also included Tanweer Ahmed, the Chief Executive of Pak Foods and Our Energy.
The funds collected will be used to build stadiums and training centers to develop a new generation of US cricketers and to enable the country to host global cricketing events.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Knight Riders and MLC Announce Plans For World Class Stadium In Los Angeles.#KKR @iamsrk pic.twitter.com/lFvaaKMptw
— Nigar Parveen (@NigarNawab) April 30, 2022
“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,” said Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, co-founders of MLC.
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“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.”
Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan has also invested in the Major League Cricket. He has bought into the league through his Knight Riders Group. His organization entered into a long-term strategic partnership with American Cricket Enterprises, which pledged US$1 billion in May 2019 to help USA Cricket develop the sport in the US.