Chicago Catchers

The Chicago Catchers were an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competed in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team was based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket.[1] The franchise was owned by the Cricket Management Group, LLC.[2]

Chicago Catchers
LeagueMinor League Cricket
ConferenceCentral Division (Pacific Conference)
Personnel
CaptainRizwan Cheema
OwnerCricket Management Group, LLC
Team information
CityChicago, Illinois
Colours  Light Green, and   Red.
Founded2020 (2020)
Dissolved2022 (2022)
Home groundWashington Park

T20 kit

The team's home ground was Washington Park, located in Chicago, Illinois.[3] Former Canadian cricket captain Rizwan Cheema helmed captaincy duties, while Karan Kumar stood by as vice-captain.[4]

Americans Shreyas Ramesh and Ranadeep Aleti led the bowling and batting leaderboards with 266 runs and 10 wickets respectively.[5][6]

Franchise history

Background

Talks of an American Twenty20 league started in November 2018 before USA Cricket became the new governing body of cricket in the United States.[7][8] In May 2021, USA Cricket announced they accepted a bid by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) for a US$1 billion investment covering the league and other investments benefitting the U.S. national teams.[9]

In an Annual General Meeting (AGM) on February 21, 2020, it was announced that USA Cricket planned to launch Major League Cricket in 2021 and Minor League Cricket that summer,[10] but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic[11] and due to the lack of high-quality cricket stadiums in the U.S.[12] Major League Cricket was pushed to a summer-2023 launch[13] and Minor League Cricket was pushed back to July 31, 2021.[14]

USA Cricket CEO Iain Higgins also pointed out cities such as New York City, Houston and Los Angeles with a large cricket fanbase, and targeted them among others as launch cities for Minor League Cricket.[15]

Exhibition league

In July 2020, the player registration for the Minor League Cricket exhibition league began.[16] On August 15, 2020, USA Cricket announced the teams participating in the exhibition league matches, also listing the owners for each team.[17] The draft for the exhibition league began on August 22, 2020,[18] with the Chicago Catchers releasing their squad on September 12.[19] Rizwan Cheema was later named as captain for the Blasters, with Karan Kumar down for vice-captaincy duties for the exhibition league.[20]

2021 season
See also: 2021 Minor League Cricket season § Pacific Conference

After the conclusion of the exhibition league, USA Cricket announced that they were planning to launch the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket in spring 2021.[21] Ahead of the official season, which was announced to kick off on July 31,[22] the Catchers announced Rizwan Cheema as captain with Karan Kumar helming vice-captain duties.[4]

Throughout the group stage, the Catchers lost all of their matches, losing twice against the Athletics, the Blasters, the Hurricanes, the Stars, and the Americans, while losing once against the Strikers, the Blazers, and the Mustangs.[23][24] The Catchers finished last in their group, thus not advancing to the quarterfinals.

2022 season

For the 2022 season, it was announced that MiLC was replacing the Catchers with the Chicago Tigers.[25]

Squad
  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Year signed Notes
Batsmen
Abhyu Garg United States (1995-05-23) 23 May 1995Right-handedRight-arm fast medium2021
Karan Kumar England (1992-09-08) 8 September 1992Right-handedRight-arm medium2021Overseas
Kevin Phillip United States (1992-02-05) 5 February 1992Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Deepchand Pinnaka United States (1994-04-18) 18 April 1994Right-handedRight-arm off break2021
Rizwan Cheema Canada (1978-08-15) 15 August 1978Right-handedRight-arm medium2021Overseas captain
Shreyas Ramesh United States (1988-07-17) 17 July 1988Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
All-rounders
Akul Gupta United States (1991-06-19) 19 June 1991Left-handedRight-arm leg break googly2021
Ankush Agarwal United States (1998-03-25) 25 March 1998Right-handedRight-arm off break2021
Asmar Najam United States (1982-07-05) 5 July 1982Right-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2021
Pankaj Kampli United States (1986-12-22) 22 December 1986Right-handedRight-arm leg break2021
Ranadeep Aleti United States (1990-10-20) 20 October 1990Right-handedRight-arm fast medium2021
Salman Ahmed Pakistan (1964-12-11) 11 December 1964Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Sandeep Sivaram United States (1992-01-17) 17 January 1992Right-handedSlow left-arm unorthodox bowling2021
Saquib Chowdary United States (1988-08-18) 18 August 1988Right-handedRight-arm fast medium2021
Shiraz Najam United States (1981-04-18) 18 April 1981Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Sikander Soleja United States (1986-01-04) 4 January 1986Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Tejas Vishal United States (2001-08-19) 19 August 2001Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Wicket-keepers
Sneh Patel United States (1990-04-15) 15 April 1990Right-handed2021

References
  1. "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Owners". USA Cricket. August 15, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  2. Hays, Nate (August 18, 2020). "Minor League Cricket announces teams and owners list, draft on August 22, exhibition games tentative". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  3. "Minor League Division Preview Series - Central". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. July 30, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  4. "Pre-Draft Selections Confirmed by 21 Minor League Cricket Teams as Draft Day Looms". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  5. "Chicago Catchers - Batting". CricClubs.com. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  6. "Chicago Catchers - Bowling". CricClubs.com. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  7. Penna, Peter Della (January 8, 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  8. Penna, Peter Della (November 27, 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  9. "USA Cricket Chooses Partner to Fund and Develop U.S.-Based Professional T20 Cricket League". USA Cricket. May 23, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  10. "USA Cricket Board Meeting February 2020". USA Cricket. February 27, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  11. "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. August 2, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  12. "American Major League Cricket tournament launch pushed to 2023 at Annual General Meeting". Inside the Games. May 24, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  13. Penna, Peter Della (May 21, 2021). "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  14. Penna, Peter Della (July 30, 2021). "Minor League Cricket: T20 league in USA kicks off with Sami Aslam, Corey Anderson in the mix". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  15. Penna, Peter Della (February 27, 2020). "New York, Boston, Chicago, LA among 22 targeted launch cities for USA T20 competition". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  16. "Minor League Cricket Announces Player Registration Opening". USA Cricket. July 7, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  17. "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket. August 15, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  18. "Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft to Take Place Today". USA Cricket. August 22, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  19. "Four More Minor League Teams Complete Squad Selections". USA Cricket. September 12, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  20. Hays, Nate (September 19, 2020). "Four new Minor League teams set for exhibition debuts". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  21. "USA Cricket Launches Foundational Plan". USA Cricket. October 15, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  22. "American Cricket History to be Made on Minor League Cricket Opening Weekend". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. July 29, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  23. Bodiwala, Suresh (September 17, 2021). "Chicago Blasters defend title against Chicago Catchers". Daily Herald. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  24. Lyons, Joe (August 23, 2021). "St. Louis Americans are part of new U.S. cricket league". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  25. "Titles and Sponsors Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championships". Indo-Asian News Service. May 17, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
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