In a major takeaway of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, the USA Cricket team made history by advancing to the Super 8 stage, which has rallied Americans to get behind their national team. The Major League Cricket, a US-based T20 league, congratulated the national team for making it to the Super 8 stage. Major League Cricket players who are part of Team USA are Ali Khan, Nitish Kumar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Steven Taylor, Nosthush Kenjige, Monank Patel and Shayan Jahangir (MI New York), Corey Anderson (San Francisco Unicorns), Harmeet Singh, (Seattle Orcas), Milind Kumar (Texas Super Kings) Andries Gous, Saurabh Netravalkar and Yasir Mohammad (Washington Freedom).
Team USA started their campaign by convincingly defeating Canada in the opening game. They emerged victorious against Pakistan in a thrilling super-over, which put the team in a position to finish second in Group A of the marquee event. Ultimately, they were helped as their game against Ireland was abandoned due to rain.
With the USA set to face South Africa, West Indies, and England in Group 2 of the Super 8 round, Cognizant Major League Cricket's Chief Executive Vijay Srinivasan, said the advancement of the team to the next stage of the home World Cup is an incredible achievement.
"Congratulations to Team USA, who, in their first-ever World Cup appearance, gave us three thrilling matches of cricket against the world's best teams and earned their position in the Super 8. This is a historic moment for the sport, especially for our players from Major League Cricket who are representing the USA. We hope that this inspires boys and girls around the country to pick up a bat and ball this summer, and encourages sports fans to attend an MLC game or tune into the broadcast," Srinivasan said as quoted by the MLC release.
"The USA's advancement to the Super 8 means they'll automatically qualify for the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, providing Major League Cricket with a strong platform for continued growth," he added.
MLC's six teams; Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom, boast some of the world's best international and domestic talent who are readying to represent their respective countries in the World Cup.
"MLC has already revolutionized the cricket landscape in the USA. The inaugural 2023 season was a huge success, with sold-out matches garnering millions of viewers worldwide. This set the momentum for the upcoming T20 World Cup and the MLC's second season, which kicks off July 5," the release added.
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