CRICKET POLL

In a groundbreaking development, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced a strategic partnership with an upcoming MLC franchise set to be introduced in the 2027 season. The franchise is currently owned by a consortium called True North Sports Ventures (TNS) headed by MLC co-founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan. The consortium will also include the NFL franchise San Francisco 49ers investment arm as a minority player. Cricbuzz understands that the consortium is also in talks with a top-tier Bollywood celebrity to join the ranks.

This strategic deal will be a first of its kind where a national governing body for cricket has ventured out of its precinct to be part of an alien league held in a completely different country. The partnership, as revealed to Cricbuzz, is two fold. NZC is set to obtain a minority equity in the franchise as well as spearhead their cricketing operations for high performance, player development and management by leveraging their cricketing ecosystem. That arrangement includes cross utilisation of coaches, NZC contracted players and integration of the NZC domestic system with the franchise.

"NZC will be providing its expertise to greatly benefit MLC and also cricket in the US. But for us, the massive upside for us is that we are going to be paid for providing these high performance services and being a partner with these MLC franchises. We have the opportunity to take equity stakes in the franchise, and thereby we have the opportunity to benefit from the growth of cricket in the US from a financial perspective when MLC gets lucrative. So that's very appealing to us to potentially grow our revenue base which provides an opportunity down the line to invest in our own game, in our community game, and our pathways game, and also in our high performance game" said Scott Weenink to Cricbuzz.

A source close to the proceedings confirmed to Cricbuzz that NZC will be starting off small at the equity level but have an option to go 'really deep'. They further claimed NZC has a path to being a significant and substantial minority player rather than just a mere service provider.

Sameer Mehta underscored the strategic need for an upcoming franchise to partner with industry experts like NZC and San Francisco 49ers. Mehta believes partnering with these world class entities two years ahead of the franchise's debut offers crucial momentum to methodically construct not just the team but a culture and identity rooted in its long term vision.

"Since the NZC are coming in early with us, they actually have time to analyze and build what they want on the high performance side. In my opinion, they are the world's best entity in high performance. They really know how to take a small talent pool which also mirrors USA's cricketing landscape in terms of the level of talent pool and completely magnify it. They want to make this an example of how they can operate outside of New Zealand" said Mehta to Cricbuzz.

"Equally chuffed with the partnership with the 49ers and hopefully we can leverage the expertise of the robust commercial sporting machinery it has become. They can help the franchise in many aspects like procuring a top merchandising deal, or a great advertising partner. We'd be looking to get connections with mainstream sponsors like Gatorade who they currently partner with. You want a little bit of help on how to do some special things in your venue and talk to their venue guys. NZC will bring the cricketing elements and these guys will bring the American aspect" added Mehta.

Much like their national cricket teams, NZC too has consistently punched above its weight-emerging as one of the leading cricketing nations in terms of growth and governance, despite being handicapped by limited financial resources and the added challenge of operating in a country with a small population where cricket is arguably only the third-most followed sport.

While the quality of cricket remains high in their domestic T20 competition, the Super Smash, New Zealand's prime time incompatibility with the Indian broadcast market-combined with unfavourable macro-economic indicators such as a small population and an even smaller cricketing market meant that the league's unit economics couldn't generate the kind of substantial revenue needed to diversify NZC's income meaningfully, especially when compared to their share of ICC grants. Weenink believes their advent into the MLC is one of their first step towards their strategic 5 year plan to diversify their revenue streams.

"Super Smash is an incredibly high quality tournament that we're very proud of but because New Zealand is a small market, and our time zones aren't necessarily very helpful for the Indian broadcast market. There's always going to be a little bit of a challenge to really monetize that tournament. That's not to say that we won't in future, and we may stil invest and franchise the Super Smash. But we see the MLC as a separate opportunity for NZC to diversify its revenue streams" added Weenink.

As part of its survival instinct, NZC has largely been agile to external stimuli. Their first foray into the American market came over a decade ago, when they hosted a T20I series against Sri Lanka in Florida. Though that venture failed to take off, it did little to dampen their willingness to adapt. In fact, NZC has continued to display a forward-thinking approach, particularly in navigating the modern cricketing landscape. They've been pioneers in offering players greater contractual flexibility-being among the first to move away from rigid central contracts and introducing hybrid agreements that reflect the evolving priorities of players in the global T20 era.

"We have a very innovative and forward thinking and strategically minded board. We are constantly on the move. We are well aware of the challenges we face and have device strategies to overcome that. For example, we have smaller playing numbers than most countries but we have a system where we identify talent early and then put a wrap around them to really bring them through and develop them. Other countries have larger numbers, and they can take a different approach to talent development. But we'r quite unique in that sense. So it's a nurture rather than a nature system."

It is highly likely the franchise will be based out of Toronto as it is understood that the consortium has already initiated deliberations with Cricket Canada and the city of Brampton, a suburb of Toronto. Their contingency plan also includes basing the franchise out of Atlanta.