Pat Cummins to play for San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket 2024

Australian pacer Pat Cummins has signed a long-term contract to play for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket, the team announced on Tuesday.

Cummins will be the third Australian cricketer to play for the MLC team this season. Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk have already been signed by the Unicorns.

“I’m very excited to join the Unicorns ahead of the 2024 season,” Cummins said. “MLC is developing at a rapid rate, and the US market potential is huge for cricket.”

The 31-year-old Cummins recently led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to the final of the Indian Premier League late last month. He is also a part of Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, which is currently underway in the United States and the Caribbean.

Major League Cricket 2024 starts on July 5. The San Francisco Unicorns’ first match is on July 8 against the LA Knight Riders on July 7.

Since making his debut, Cummins has played 146 matches in T20 cricket and picked up 163 wickets at 27.25 apiece. He gives away 8.13 runs per over and has a strike rate of 20.

Cummins’ best bowling figures in T20 cricket are 4/16, which came against Tasmania in the 2010-11 edition of the Big Bash League. He is a handy batter too, averaging 17.85.

The San Francisco Unicorns finished fifth among six teams in the inaugural season of MLC last year.