The crisis which has engulfed cricket governance in the USA over the last few weeks has rapidly escalated, with uncertainty over what that means for both Major League Cricket, and cricket’s return to the Olympics in 2028.
In the last month, USA Cricket has been suspended by the ICC, and declared bankruptcy. It has also terminated its deal with its commercial partner, ACE, who own Major League Cricket and both funded and owned the commercial rights to the US national team under the agreement. ACE subsequently launched legal action, which is now under an automatic stay while bankruptcy proceedings go ahead.
Among all of this, deep schisms among the USA Cricket board of directors have led to public allegations of unethical and illegal activity by board members. With the crisis rapidly worsening, questions have circulated over what it means for MLC and LA28.
Will Major League Cricket happen next year?
Major League Cricket played its third season this year and, broadly speaking, the league has developed into a success. Investment from IPL franchises has led to significant infrastructure development in the US, as well as high profile players choosing to appear in the league. This year’s final featured Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell among other big name overseas players.
MLC is owned by ACE, a conglomerate of over 100 investors. In 2019, they signed an agreement with USA Cricket which would give them the rights to MLC for 50 years. However, that agreement was terminated in August of this year. The deal had been a long-standing point of contention with USA Cricket, who allege ACE “failed to fulfill its contractual and fiduciary obligations”. They also allege the former president, Paraag Marathe, failed to disclose a conflict of interest with ACE at the time the contract was negotiated, and that the deal was one-sided to favour ACE as a result. ACE strongly deny those allegations.
“A fundamental principle of our agreement is that it is exclusive,” ACE CEO Johnny Grave told Wisden.com. “But it’s not like the IPL isn’t exclusive in India or the Hundred isn’t exclusive in England. Someone else couldn’t just start up a professional T20 league in the UK tomorrow and broadcast it globally. The rights are exclusive because you need to protect your interests and justify the amount of investment money required to build it.
“I don’t think there’s an Associate member in the world, who if you said the likes of the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings, the Kolkata Knight Riders, along with the CEOs of some of the biggest companies in the world are all going to come together to invest a billion dollars to grow the sport in your country, including a domestic professional pathway and world class infrastructure, that they wouldn’t be going, all my Christmases have come at once.’ I’m genuinely flabbergasted.”
ALSO READ: Lawsuits, lies and a bankrupt board: Cricket in the USA is engulfed in chaos
While the termination of the deal effectively takes away ACE’s right to organise Major League, USA Cricket’s suspension from the ICC provides further complications.
“USA Cricket being either on notice or now suspended by the ICC, means that when we walk in to see potential commercial partners for Team USA they say until the board can resolve its issues we can’t even consider a sponsorship,” says Grave. “And we don’t sponsor sports who aren’t recognised by the US Olympic Committee.
“There’s huge nervousness and uncertainty with the current situation. MLC isn’t something you organise in a couple of months. International players want to know about their summer plans and secure their earnings for next year now, so we need to contract them and arrange their visas asap etc., venues like the Oakland Coliseum are finalizing their 2026 dates and FIFA announce the World Cup schedule in early December, so we need book hotels and flights before then too”.
While the situation is uncertain, there have been some positive noises from key voices in the dispute with regard to sanctioning a Major League season next year. Venu Pisike is at the centre of the schism in the USA Cricket board, and yet despite being the target of some of the more unsavoury allegations, he doesn’t expect the controversy to endanger MLC.
“If they still want to run MLC, most likely there won’t be issues with that,” USA Cricket chair, Pisike, told Wisden.com. “We have always been supportive of MLC. Even during the termination, we are supportive of MLC. They [ACE] have several material breaches of their obligations, but even still, if they want to renegotiate, the board is willing to support MLC, nobody is against it. If not MLC, there has to be a professional league in order to grow the sport in the country professionally. When they put that effort in, we’re supportive of that.
“The way forward is that ACE has to realise they have failed to fulfill the agreement, even though it’s one-sided, they still did not meet their obligations. This contract will be problematic in the future. They should agree to come down and sit with us to renegotiate the contract. That’s something they haven’t been willing to do for years, and I don’t know why. They want to hold on to the same contract which they can’t even meet the obligations.”
Despite willingness from both sides to support an MLC season next year, the continued chaos makes the way forward challenging. USA Cricket have accused ACE of threatening players seeking to play in non-MLC, USAC organised tournaments, and of attempting to influence board members by offering them roles in ACE associated leagues. A response from ACE said USA Cricket “continues to show zero regard for the best interests of cricket and its players, and is only motivated by politics and the personal agendas.”
It’s hard to see how a working relationship can continue amidst the mud-slinging. A domestic draft will need to take place early next year, and there are venues to confirm and schedules to be made. The longer the turmoil continues, the madder the dash to bring the tournament together will be when it eventually resolves.
Is cricket’s inclusion at the Olympics in danger?
In short, no.
Cricket has already been confirmed as an event at LA28, and USAC’s ICC suspension does not have any bearing on that. Where it gets complicated is USAC’s failure to gain National Governing Body status from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC),
In order to facilitate a team at the Olympics, USA Cricket needs that status. Their continued failure to achieve it is largely behind the ICC’s decision to suspend them. In July of this year, USOPC senior governance advisor, David Patterson, called for the USAC board to resign, following a meeting between officials from USAC, USOPC, and the ICC. “The USOPC believes that a comprehensive leadership overhaul is essential,” read a statement from Patterson. “Partial changes will not suffice. A fresh start is the only effective way forward for USA Cricket.”
“Except for a couple of members of the board, nobody accepted to resign or step down,” says Pisike. “On paper, we meet all of the eligibility requirements. But because of the dysfunctional actions of certain members writing emails to the USOPC every single day, that’s caused their disappointment.”
Pisike’s view of who has caused that ‘disappointment’, however, is not universally shared. “They [USOPC] clearly outlined every concern and offered guidance urging the board to restore constitutional order, transparency, and independence,” Kuljit-Singh Nijjar, USA Cricket board member, told Wisden.com. “But rather than treating USOPC’s feedback as a roadmap for progress, they [Pisike and his allies] turned it into a checklist of what to defy. When warned not to interfere in daily operations, they doubled their interference. When told to reform governance, they expanded unconstitutional committees. When advised to uphold transparency, they deepened secrecy.”
The ICC’s intervention is in part to help USAC achieve NGB status, with a ‘roadmap’ established towards that aim. They have also taken over management of the US national teams while the suspension is in place, specifically citing the need to “maintain momentum towards Olympic inclusion”. If the internal situation doesn’t resolve, however, USAC will not be able to facilitate a home US team at the Olympics. The team would either be overseen by the USOPC or a separate governing body.
Equally, the termination of the ACE agreement has led to uncertainty over funding for the Olympic cricket venue in LA. While LA28 have already announced a temporary structure to be built in Pomona to facilitate the event, MLC franchise LA Knight Riders have expressed interest in investing in the stadium, with a view to retain some aspects for a permanent stadium to host MLC games. With the future of the MLC uncertain, KKR’s investment has yet to be agreed.
In a situation mired in instability, cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics feels like the one certainty. “That won’t stop LA28,” says Pisike of Knight Riders’ potential investment withdrawal. “They [LA28 committee] told us they already have their plans regardless of anyone partnering. It’s just whether LAKR invest in it.”
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
