Cricket News

Texas' first professional cricket team unveils new name and team roster

Rendering of a cricket game where the players look to be about as big as crickets.

MLC

The first professional cricket team in Texas now has a team name and a talented roster of players.

This is the state's first professional cricket team in Major League Cricket (MLC), which is the first professional cricket league in the U.S. So many firsts.

Get ready to cheer for: Texas Super Kings. That's the name. Go Kings go!

They also hired a coach and nine players, following the first MLC draft which took place on Sunday, March 19 in Houston at the Space Center and telecast live across the globe.

At this event, six MLC teams — representing Texas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. — selected nine domestic cricketers.

Texas' team will be led by coach Stephen Fleming, a former captain of the New Zealand national cricket team and head coach of Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. He played in the historic first Twenty20 International of the world as captain of the New Zealand team in 2005.

The Texas Super Kings also announced their partnership with Chennai Super Kings, an Indian Premier League franchise cricket team based in Chennai, India who will bring operational expertise and help lead the Texas team to championships.

The Texas Super Kings' roster features these top domestic cricketers:

Round 1: Rusty Theron
Round 2: Calvin Savage
Round 3: Lahiru Milantha
Round 4: Milind Kumar
Round 5: Sami Aslam
Round 6: Cameron Stevenson
Round 7: Cody Chetty
Round 8: Zia Shahzad
Round 9: Saiteja Mukkamalla

Texan Super Kings' co-owner Anurag Jain notes in a statement that cricket is popular around the globe, and now it's time to make it popular in the U.S.

“Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world with a global fan base of around 2.5 billion followers, but there has not been an opportunity for the sport to grow in the U.S.,” Jain says. “We look forward to having a professional team in Texas for the passionate local cricket community to root for and to introduce the sport to new fans across the country.”

Jain, a partner with Perot Jain and chairman of Access Healthcare; and Ross Perot Jr., chairman of the Perot Group, were among the cricket enthusiasts and investors in a $44 million funding round that will help MLC build facilities across the country.

The MLC inaugural season begins July 13, 2023 at the first professional cricket stadium in the U.S., Grand Prairie Stadium, in Grand Prairie.

The 2023 season will feature 19 matches to be played over 18 days, building up to the first MLC championship final to take place on July 30. The stadium will have a permanent capacity of 7,200 and will feature 1,000 club and premium seats, with the ability to expand to a capacity of over 15,000 for major events, including matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, to be co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies.

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Turn Cancer Upside Down

Figure skating legend Scott Hamilton brings holiday ice show to DFW

Scott Hamilton & Friends Benefiting The Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Scott Hamilton will emcee the ice show.

Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater known for his signature backflip, is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth for a holiday ice show and "Frozen 5K" fundraising mega-event.

The fundraiser portion ties into Hamilton's public battle with testicular cancer in the 1990s, which led him to found the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation in 2014. The nonprofit's mission is to fund innovative, patient-centered, targeted treatments that fight cancer while preserving quality of life.

One of its fundraising events is the Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer ice shows, which bring Hamilton and other world-class athletes to rinks around the country.

NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills is hosting a holiday version on Saturday, December 20 at 7 pm, where Hamilton will emcee and Olympians Mariah Bell, Ashley Cain, and Polina Edmunds will perform.

Tickets range from $32.75 to $79, with proceeds benefiting UT Southwestern Medical Center in addition to the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation.

Mariah Bell, figure skating, Olympian Figure skater Mariah Bell. Getty Images

"This isn’t just an ice show - it’s a celebration of hope, resilience, and community," the city of North Richland Hills says in a Facebook post. "Expect breathtaking performances, holiday cheer, and the chance to see world-class athletes light up the ice, all while supporting a cause that will touch so many."

If you'd like to get out on the ice yourself, you can register for the Frozen 5K on December 21 and skate 35 laps to honor and remember those impacted by cancer. The $35 registration fee includes a T-shirt, or you can donate extra to receive other Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer swag.

DFW-only fundraising incentives include an autographed program ($500), a VIP meet-and-greet plus autographed program ($1,000), or the chance to perform at the holiday ice show (top fundraisers only — see more info here). Better start stretching.

It's the perfect time for Hamilton to bring his ice show to North Texas. Ice rinks are a huge holiday trend for 2025, with kids of all ages gliding and spinning on special pop-up rinks from Grapevine to Garland to the all-new CultureMap City Rink in downtown Dallas.

scott hamilton cancer research fundraising olympians mariah bell ashley cain polina edmunds scott hamilton cares foundation ska8 to elimin8 cancer frozen 5k ice skating city rink