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More money coming to American Cricket League, say big US investors

(Photo: EPA-EFE / Divyakant Solanki)

A group of investors, including Microsoft CEO Sayta Nadella, is determined to bring the world’s second most popular sport to the US. After a sold-out opening night, Major League Cricket wants to keep building on the early success. 

The league kicked off its inaugural season last Thursday with the Texas Super Kings beating the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Dallas.

The Super Kings are part-owned by Anurag Jain, managing partner of venture capital firm Perot Jain, and his long-time business partner real estate billionaire Ross Perot Jr.

Jain, who grew up playing cricket in India, said he’s hoping investment in the new league will create a premier product that can tap into the sport’s global popularity, second only to soccer.

“There’s a lot of infrastructure required and we’re bringing the top players over here,” said Jain. “We’ve put a lot of money into the league and for a period of time, we’ll need to invest more money.”

Investors have already said they’ll pour $120-million into the nascent league.

Jain is joined by investors including Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Nadella, who has a piece of Seattle’s professional team, the Orcas.

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