The much hyped Major League Cricket (MLC), a T20 tournament from the United States is all set to have its curtain raiser on July 13. The competition will witness six city-based franchises compete for the title from July 13 to July 31.
The MLC 2023 has been making big noise since India’s Kolkata franchise bought a side in it. Later, three more franchises joined the party with Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi also having their representative teams in the MLC.
The MLC will have six teams – Los Angeles Knight Riders, Texas Super Kings, MI New York, Seattle Orcas, San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom compete each other once in the group stage. The top four teams on the table will advance through to the playoffs.
Before the tournament kicks off, here’s everything you need to know about the fixtures, how to watch the MLC 2023 and top players to watch out for.
MLC 2023 fixtures
The MLC 2023 commences on July 13 evening local time with a clash between Texas Super Kings and Los Angeles Knight Riders. The first eight group matches will take place at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas. Church Street Park in Morrisville will then host the final seven group fixtures before the caravan returns to Texas for the playoffs.
Important to note that due to the time difference between India and the United States, the matches will be live here in India at midnight and early morning.
| Date | Fixture | Venue | Time (Local) |
| Thu, Jul 13 | Texas Super Kings vs Los Angeles Knight Riders | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Fri, Jul 14 | MI New York vs San Francisco Unicorns | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 3.30 pm |
| Fri, Jul 14 | Seattle Orcas vs Washington Freedom | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Sat, Jul 15 | San Francisco Unicorns vs Seattle Orcas | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Sun, Jul 16 | Texas Super Kings vs Washington Freedom | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 3.30 pm |
| Sun, Jul 16 | Los Angeles Knight Riders vs MI New York | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Mon, Jul 17 | Texas Super Kings vs MI New York | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Tue, Jul 18 | Los Angeles Knight Riders vs San Francisco Unicorns | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Thu, Jul 20 | Washington Freedom vs Los Angeles Knight Riders | Church Street Park, Morrisville | 5.30 pm |
| Fri, Jul 21 | Seattle Orcas vs Texas Super Kings | Church Street Park, Morrisville | 5.30 pm |
| Sat, Jul 22 | Washington Freedom vs San Francisco Unicorns | Church Street Park, Morrisville | 5.30 pm |
| Sun, Jul 23 | Los Angeles Knight Riders vs Seattle Orcas | Church Street Park, Morrisville | 1.30 pm |
| Sun, Jul 23 | MI New York vs Washington Freedom | Church Street Park, Morrisville | 5.30 pm |
| Mon, Jul 24 | San Francisco Unicorns vs Texas Super Kings | Church Street Park, Morrisville | 5.30 pm |
| Tue, Jul 25 | MI New York vs Seattle Orcas | Church Street Park, Morrisville | 5.30 pm |
| Thu, Jul 27 | Eliminator (3 v 4) | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 3.30 pm |
| Thu, Jul 27 | Qualifier (1 v 2) | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Fri, Jul 28 | Challenger | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
| Sun, Jul 30 | Final | Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas | 7.30 pm |
How to watch the MLC 2023 in India
For those living in India, there are a couple of ways you can catch all the live action of the MLC 2023. Viacom18 has bagged the rights to broadcast the tournament live in India.
You can watch the live TV coverage of all matches on Sports18. For those of you who prefer online streaming, Jio Cinema will stream all the matches live with great experience.
Top Players to watch out for in MLC 2023
Devon Conway (Texas Super Kings)
Devon Conway has been consistently good in the shorter format. He has scored over 5300 runs in T20 cricket at an average of 44 while striking at 130. The left hand batter was superb for the Chennai franchise in the Indian T20 League, where he smashed 672 runs at an average of 52 and strike rate of 140, including six half centuries.
Jason Roy (Los Angeles Knight Riders)
The opening batter from England is one of the most destructive players in the game. Jason Roy has an outstanding record in T20 cricket with over 8400 runs at an average of 28 and strike rate of 142. Roy has smashed six hundreds and 56 fifties in the tournament. He was excellent for the Knight Riders in India, scoring 285 runs at 36 average and 151 strike rate.
Rashid Khan (MI New York)
Rashid Khan is amongst the most valuable players in the T20 arena. The leg-spinner is the best spinner in the format and has shown time and again that he can win matches with the bat as well. Rashid has taken 555 wickets in the shorter format at an exceptional economy of 6.45. Rashid will be a key figure in the MI New York set-up.
Anrich Nortje (Washington Freedom)
The South African seamer is one of the fastest bowlers in the world and you can expect him to make a big impact in this league. Anrich Nortje possesses the ability to intimidate batters with his sheer pace. He has 142 wickets in T20 cricket at an economy of 7.42 while striking every 16.4 balls. Watch out for him when Washington Freedom take the field.
Marcus Stoinis (San Francisco Unicorns)
San Francisco Unicorns secured the services of Australian all-rounder for the inaugural MLC season. Stoinis did well in the Indian T20 League, scoring 408 runs at an average of 31 and strike rate of 150 with three fifties. Stoinis has nearly 5000 runs in the shorter format alongwith 101 wickets with his medium pace bowling.
