Major League Cricket (MLC) is set to hold its first season between July 13 and 30 with six teams taking part.

An initial pot of $120 million (£97 million/€111 million) is funding the league and owners of mega-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) clubs have a stake in four of the American franchises.

This includes the LA Knight Riders in the 2028 Olympic host city, who are owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his KKR Group.

Khan, one of the richest actors in the world, also owns IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders.

Cricket in Los Angeles is also set to benefit from plans to develop a venue for the team in Great Park in Irvine.

A 5,000 to 7,000 seat stadium is being planned with hopes to have it operational before the 2026 season.

This means the Knight Riders may have played in it for two seasons before the 2028 Olympics, and that cricket could be held there during the Games.

The International Cricket Council has already spoken to the KKR Group to hear more about the plans.

It is hoped that all of the MLC teams will have their own ground by 2026, and other venues for the sport are also springing up in a country which has little cricket heritage.

Broward County Cricket Stadium in Fort Lauderdale in Florida boasts 20,000 seats and will likely be used at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2024 which the US is due to co-host with the West Indies.

Cricket West Indies already stages matches there, while the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas has been transformed from a baseball venue to a cricket facility.

This will be used for the Texas Super Kings MLC side, which has connections to the IPL's Chennai Super Kings.

Venues will also be built for the remaining MLC teams - San Francisco Unicorns, Washington Freedom, Seattle Orcas and Mumbai Indians New York. 

In Los Angeles, other options could include a greenfield site to the south of the Rose Bowl, where the ICC could curate a pitch and outfield within 12 to 18 months.

Elsewhere in California, the Oakland Coliseum baseball stadium could accommodate cricket as current tenants Oakland Athletics are relocating to Las Vegas. 

Cricket is one of nine sports on the shortlist to be added to the Los Angeles 2028 programme, along with baseball/softball, breaking, flag football, karate, kickboxing, lacrosse, motorsport and squash.

A decision is expected at the International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, which is scheduled from October 15 to 17.

England cricketer Jason Roy yesterday ended his national contract in order to play in the MLC.