More than a decade after the hefty Hollywood exposure from Million Dollar Arm, MLB is taking another big swing at connecting more deeply with India and cricket fans.
The league said on Wednesday it has struck a deal for Indian cricket star Suryakumar Yadav to serve as a league ambassador. Beginning with MLB All-Star Game events this weekend in Philadelphia, Suryakumar will participate in a series of fan engagement initiatives, appear in original content, and appear at various MLB events—all with an eye toward bridging the gap between cricket and baseball.
MLB also has completed a rights renewal with Indian media outlet JioStar, in which select regular season games, the All-Star Game, postseason, and World Series will be shown in the world’s most populous country.
A Different Approach
This is hardly the first time that MLB has sought to tap into the massive opportunity in and around India. The 2014 Million Dollar Arm movie, starring Jon Hamm, was a feature film depiction of a real-life contest in India organized by sports agent J.B. Bernstein to unearth baseball talent among cricketers.
