Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin is set to represent the San Francisco Unicorns in the 2026 season of the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States of America.

This would make R Ashwin the first Indian capped player to play in the American franchise league. Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket in 2024, and further announced his retirement from the IPL after a dismal return to the Chennai Super Kings in 2025. He was meant to play the 2025-26 Big Bash League for the Sydney Thunder, but pulled out due to knee surgery. He recently played an exhibition match in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

"Just looking at the reception that the Asian diaspora was able to bring for that game just showed me what the potential of American cricket could very well be. It's very exciting,” Ashwin said, speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

The United States has become a lucrative destination for cricket with the advent of the MLC. Additionally, Los Angeles is slated to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, where cricket will be making an appearance. Ashwin praised the globalisation of the sport, bringing in new faces to the sport.

"We are standing at one of the crux points for the game where it is fighting and fighting to break free in terms of globalising the particular sport. So, I think there will be a lot of freewill over the next decade in terms of how much people will want to engage and how many people will want to jump on-board," Ashwin said.

Ashwin was impressed at what the sport brought to the fans, and how children were engaging with the sport. He expressed his desire to experience that at the MLC.

"The fact that there is so much interest from the kids and from a lot of people who have come and settled in America and showing so much interest towards the game, I just wanted to come and experience what it is going to look like when we turn up for the MLC,” Ashwin added.