Toronto Is Getting Canada’s First Major League Cricket Team in 2027
A Toronto Major League Cricket team is officially joining the league in 2027, making the city home to Canada’s first MLC franchise.
Toronto and Chicago will join the professional T20 league as part of its next expansion, growing the competition from six teams to eight. For Toronto’s massive cricket community, this is a pretty big deal — and it means another major-league team is coming to the city.
Toronto Major League Cricket Team Set to Join in 2027
The new Toronto franchise will begin playing in the 2027 season alongside a second expansion team in Chicago.
Right now, Major league Cricket has six teams: Texas Super Kings, MI New York, Washington Freedom, Los Angeles Knight Riders, San Francisco Unicorns and Seattle Orcas. The addition of Toronto and Chicago will bring that total to eight.
Toronto will also become the league’s first Canadian market, taking MLC beyond the United States for the first time.
So, What Exactly Is Major League Cricket?
If you’re new to the sport, Major League Cricket is a professional Twenty20 — or T20 — cricket league.
Basically, T20 is the faster version of the game. Matches typically last around three hours, which makes the format easier to follow than traditional cricket matches that can stretch across several days.
The league launched in 2023 and has since brought international cricket stars to teams across the U.S. It’s also been working toward expansion for a while, with plans to grow from six to eight teams by 2027.
Why Toronto Makes So Much Sense
If any Canadian city was going to land an MLC team, Toronto was always an obvious contender.
The city and surrounding GTA have huge South Asian and Caribbean communities, where cricket already has a strong following. Previous reports had also named Toronto as a potential expansion market before the 2027 move came together.
Plus, cricket is having a moment in North America. With the sport continuing to grow across the continent, bringing a professional team to Toronto gives local fans something they haven’t had before: a home team competing in one of the region’s top T20 leagues.
There Are Still Some Big Questions
We know the Toronto team is coming, but plenty of details are still under wraps.
The franchise has not revealed its team name, branding, roster or home venue yet. We also don’t know exactly when in 2027 the team will play its first match.
Those details will likely be the next big announcements to watch. For now, though, Toronto cricket fans can officially add another team to the city’s already packed sports lineup.
Are you excited to see a Major League Cricket team in Toronto? Let us know in the comments!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Toronto will join the existing MLC competition, so the team will compete against franchises based in U.S. markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Texas and Washington.
Toronto has hosted professional and franchise cricket through other competitions. However, the new team will be Canada’s first franchise in Major League Cricket.
Most likely. MLC teams feature a mix of domestic players and international talent, so Toronto could eventually attract some big names. The team has not announced any players yet.
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