The Knight Riders Group, majority owned by Bollywood superstar, Shah Rukh Khan, has agreed to a major investment in American cricket in partnership with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE). The long-term strategic partnership will include financial investment and significant expertise to help ACE develop and launch Major League Cricket in the USA.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Knight Riders Group which also has Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta as board members are owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) and are now set to become a part of American cricket. The actor, after taking Bollywood abroad is now doing the same in the world of cricket and now owns the Los Angeles team of Major League Cricket.
This is yet another example of how the King of Bollywood is taking India international, be it with his films that opened a pathway for Indian cinema in Russia or be it his cricket team in the Caribbean. The actor’s popularity is ever growing across the globe and his movies and work have been known to make an impact in many other countries.
Shah Rukh Khan, commenting on buying the LA team of MLC shares, “For several years now, we have been expanding the Knight Riders brand globally and closely watching the potential for T20 cricket in the USA. We are convinced that Major League Cricket has all the pieces in place to execute on its plans and we look forward to making our partnership an enormous success in the coming years.”
Mr. Venky Mysore, the CEO of KKR and Red Chillies Entertainment said, “We feel fortunate to have been consistently recognized as one of the best franchises in T20 cricket and have become one of the fastest growing sports brands in the world. As T20 cricket expands internationally, we are flattered by the regular inbound requests to play a major role in growing the sport abroad. We have had a keen interest in the developments in the United States and our expansion into the U.S. is consistent with our long-term strategy. We look forward to the new challenge of building cricket in the world’s most sophisticated sports and media market and we believe that we can bring a huge amount of expertise to help make Major League Cricket realize the potential that it undoubtedly has.”
Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan of American Cricket Enterprises and Major League Cricket commented, “We are delighted to partner with the Knight Riders Group in this historic partnership. By adding the Knight Riders Group to our family of world-class and diverse investors, this investment into the future of Major League Cricket is a huge validation of our vision for the new league, and we are particularly excited to have such an iconic cricketing brand onboard with us. As USA Cricket’s official partner in developing a professional T20 league in America, we have a shared vision to bring world-class professional cricket to the world’s largest sports market. The announcement today is a significant step forward in showing the potential of the American market, and we are delighted to have the backing and expertise of the Knight Riders Group to help us achieve this vision.”
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