Major League Cricket: A new day dawns in cricket in the United States 

The league, christened Major League Cricket, will see its first game take place on July 13, 2023, in Texas. And the aims are, to put it politely, lofty. 

"Major League Cricket (MLC) announced today the dates for its inaugural season in the summer of 2023, a transformative competition that will bring many of the world's top cricketers to the United States for the first time," a statement issued by the league said earlier this week. 

"The launch of MLC will transform American cricket and provide one of the best platforms in the sport for the world's most elite players to showcase their skills while also fast-tracking the development of domestic talent to feature in the league," said Justin Geale, the MLC's tournament director. 

Americans, of all places, should make such big statements about a new competition being launched there. 

And there is every reason to believe that the new T20 league will indeed boost the sport in the country. 

However, will it really 'transform' the sport in the country as it is being claimed? Probably not. 

First off, it is worth noting that cricket in the United States is more prevalent among Asian expatriates than among American natives. 

Secondly, launching an expensive sports league in no way guarantees the sport's growth. Football is the best example of that. 

Yes, 'soccer' is a sport that has become more popular in the United States. However, this cannot be attributed to Major League Soccer (MLS) alone. 

The US's success in the women's game has played a massive part too. And the MLS, for all its improvements, remains nothing more than a glorified retirement home for Europe's finest players. 

Another sport that has yet to find success in the USA despite enjoying worldwide fame is Formula one. The pinnacle of motorsport only recently began seeing success in America. 

The reason for the popularity of the sport was due to the Netflix docuseries 'Drive to Survive' rather than the sport itself. The fact the sport's commercial rights are now American-owned probably also helps. 

Yet this makes the point even more apparent – even if MLC is a thriving cricket league, will it lead to a boom in the sport? Probably not. 

This is because American sports fans are mainly traditional and prefer sticking to American sports; in recent times, that has changed to an extent, but only partially. 

And even the sports that have caught on in recent times in America whether F1 or football, have global fame. Cricket is limited in its reach. 

That shouldn't act as a deterrent for the MLC – after all, franchise cricket leagues seem to be the way forward for the sport. 

But one should expect it to be something other than the catalyst for the growth of popularity in the sport.