Pat Cummins signs four-year deal with MLC's San Francisco Unicorns

Pat Cummins has signed a four-year contract with San Francisco Unicorns, becoming one of the highest-profile players on the roster of a Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise.

Cummins' decision to join the USA's franchise league is a significant one: he has previously played in only one overseas T20 league, the IPL, and has not featured in Australia's Big Bash League since the 2018-19 season due to his international commitments.

"MLC is developing at a rapid rate, and the US market potential is huge for cricket," Cummins said in a statement released by SF Unicorns. "While cricket is integral to my involvement, the global network and long-term possibilities offered by the owners specifically, and Silicon Valley more broadly, presented a unique opportunity for me and my life beyond cricket.

"Anand [Rajaraman] and Venky [Harinarayan, SF Unicorns' co-owners who are also Silicon Valley entrepreneurs] operate in a business world that excites me enormously and I can't wait to be a part of it."

The MLC is set to be played from July 6 to 29 this year. Australia, as per the Future Tours Programme, are due to tour the West Indies for an all-format series - two Tests, three ODIs, three T20Is - in June-July next year. As Australia's Test and ODI captain, how Cummins' availability for either assignment might be affected remains to be seen. He does not lead in T20I cricket, but recently captained his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad to the IPL 2024 final.

Hard-hitting Australian batter Jake Fraser-McGurk will join Cummins at San Francisco Unicorns this season. Washington Freedom is another franchise that has signed a number of high-profile Australians, including Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and Steven Smith. Washington also contracted New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra.

Other high-profile MLC signings for 2024 include Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and South Africa's David Miller to Los Angeles Knight Riders, South Africa's Anrich Nortje and West Indies' Romario Shepherd to MI New York, South Africa's Aiden Markram and New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell to Texas Super Kings, and South Africa's Nandre Burger and West Indies' Obed McCoy to Seattle Orcas.

In its second season, MLC will have List A status, the second Associate-run franchise competition to acquire it from the ICC after the UAE's ILT20. That means MLC will now be recognised as an official T20 league, with records counting towards official T20 statistics.