Steve Smith in talks with Major League Cricket bosses about appearance in 2024: Reports
Senior Australian batter Steve Smith is reportedly exploring a chance to feature in Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States next year. He is said to be in talks with the competition’s bosses regarding the same.
The inaugural edition of Major League Cricket is set to get underway in July this year, with matches to be played in Texas and North Carolina. Six franchises - Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Seattle, and New York City - have been given a $1.5 million salary cap to pick 18 players - a maximum of seven could be overseas players.
Last week, Cricket New South Wales (CNSW) announced a strategic partnership with MLC that would allow US players to take part in NSW Premier Cricket and Aussie cricketers to feature in the American T20 league.
According to a report in News Corp, while Smith will be unavailable for this year’s MLC since he will be featuring in the Ashes, the star batter is in talks with the competition’s bosses about making an appearance in 2024.
GONEEEEE!
#TeamIndia bowlers have the ball talking and Aussie batters dancing to their tunes!
Ashwin gets two huge wickets of Labuschagne and Smith! 🔥
Tune-in to the action in the Mastercard #INDvAUS Test on Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar!
#BelieveInBlue #TestByFire https://t.co/xxgiqyrRau
While the T20 World Cup will be played in the United States and the West Indies in June next year, there could be a window for Smith to feature in the American T20 league. MLC co-founder Sameer Mehta was quoted as telling News Corp:
“We’ve been in touch with Steve about his plans and what he’s thinking. What he’d love to do at some point is play cricket in the US as his schedule permits.
“His view was that if he could make it work and if we could make it work – I know this season, he has commitments. I don’t know what the Australian calendar is next year but I believe there is enough space for him to potentially play. Long-term, our view is that we might see a lot of him in the US.”
What Steve Smith said about his plans of playing cricket in America
Last year, Smith admitted that he would explore playing cricket in the US, referring to Major League Cricket. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in September, he commented:
“There’s obviously leagues popping up everywhere around the world now, and I think you’ll probably see more players in the back end of their career going down that route, so it’s potentially something I’ll look at in the future.
“The US has been a market that cricket’s been trying to get into for some time. So yeah, I think it’d be interesting to see how it goes.”
It was such a sweet gesture of Steve Smith to acknowledge like this even after losing the match. Guy is gem of a person ❤️ https://t.co/KNWelTvmDj
The first season of MLC is scheduled to start on July 13 in Texas.