Cummins’ manager,Neil Maxwell,said the player was excited about the opportunities.

“He’s a very curious bloke,and he likes to learn,” Maxwell said. “He finds that learning about these things is really interesting.

“There’s a range of people connected to this franchise,including the CEO of YouTube,CEO of Adobe. It just opens up Silicon Valley.”

Cummins,who is in the West Indies preparing for Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup match against Bangladesh on Friday morning (AEST),may be the world’s only premier fast bowler with a degree in business management.

It was a strange signing because the Unicorns are supported by Cricket Victoria,while his home state of NSW supports the Washington Freedom. The four other teams in the MLC are run by IPL franchises.

Rajaraman and Harinarayan approached Cricket Victoria chief Nick Cummins about signing the elite paceman.

Nick Cummins once worked with Pat Cummins as general manager of the Sydney Thunder,and knew it would take more than another T20 competition to clinch the deal.

“Pat was pretty clear:‘I’m not looking for more opportunities to play cricket,’” Nick Cummins told this masthead.

“My conversation with him and Neil was more around,‘This is so much more than cricket,thinking about your aspirations and what you want to do beyond cricket.’

“It’s a chance to connect with the tech community in Silicon Valley,connect with the greenest state in America around what he’s doing for Cricket for Climate[an environmental organisation],and I think that’s what really excited him about it.”

Sports news,results and expert commentary.Sign up for our Sport newsletter.