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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The Joke Has Landed

New comedy club at Toyota Music Factory in Irving gets set for laughs

Photo by Anna Dolmany

This is the fifth Punch Line location.

It's almost time for Punch Line Irving to open its doors, and Dave Chappelle is at the ready. The famous comedian will christen the new comedy club with four sold-out shows on December 17 and 18, but there's plenty more funny business in store for 2026.

First announced in November, this is Punch Line's fifth location — and second in Texas, the first opened in Houston in 2024 — and it's taking up residence at the Toyota Music Factory. The 240-seat club plans to host more than 350 shows and private events annually, featuring a blend of high-wattage celebrity and homegrown talent.

Its decor nods to the brand's belief that comedy is a sport, with feature wall showcasing punching bags and boxing bells signed by "heavy hitter" performers.

The menu also echoes the theme, with such cocktails as the Bellringer (bourbon, lemonade, and Liquid Death half-and-half iced tea), Ringside Ranch Water (blanco tequila, hibiscus, lime, and soda), and the Espresso All-Star, their take on the espresso martini. Food includes Punch Line favorites like the Mic Drop Burger, Punch Line Nachos, and Homemade Punch Pop Tarts in bourbon apple or strawberry cream.

There is also a second, more flexible space outside the main showroom called The Callback Bar that's designed to host smaller performances, as well as a furnished patio.

Punch Line Irving The Callback Bar.Photo by Anna Dolmany

Photo by Anna Dolmany

This is the fifth Punch Line location.

The talent gets treated as well as the audience, with a private comics lounge in place of a traditional dressing room. Designed as a shared gathering space, it sports a custom media wall showing the live-show feed, a dressing table, a private ensuite restroom, and a hospitality station.

Punch Line makes it a point to support the local comedy scene, and its Irving location will be no exception. Twenty-five cents from each ticket at participating shows benefits Comedy Gives Back, a nonprofit organization providing financial grants and resources to stand-up comedians in need. The club also hosted its first open mic on December 9 to welcome the community, with participating comics donating nonperishable items to the North Texas Food Bank.

Don't fret if you didn't snag tickets to Dave Chappelle — big names like Leslie Jones, Tone Bell, Pete Holmes, and Christina P. all have shows scheduled in the first few months of 2026 and tickets are on sale now.

openings dave chappelle punch line irving comedy club stand-up comedy comedians toyota music factory comedy