(Photo: EPA-EFE / Divyakant Solanki) 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.