Australia's Cummins signs with Major League Cricket franchise

MELBOURNE : Australia's test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has signed a four-year deal with the San Francisco Unicorns in a major coup for the fledgling Major League Cricket (MLC) T20 competition.

The second season of MLC starts on July 5, less than a week after the T20 World Cup co-hosted by the United States and West Indies wraps up.

Fast bowler Cummins will join hard-hitting compatriot Jake Fraser-McGurk at the Unicorns and follows Australia team mates Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and Steve Smith into the league.

"MLC is developing at a rapid rate, and the U.S. market potential is huge for cricket," Cummins said in a statement.

"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."

The Unicorns are co-owned by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan.

Cummins is one of cricket's most recognised players as a top performer in all three formats (test, one day and T20) who led Australia to the test and one-day world championships last year.

MLC was awarded "List A" status by the International Cricket Council last month, making it an official T20 league on a par with the Indian Premier League and other established franchise competitions.

MLC organisers plan to expand the six-team competition to 10 in coming years.