Major League Cricket, featuring the San Francisco Unicorns, coming to Oakland Coliseum this June

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A breath of new life is coming to the Oakland Coliseum this summer. World-class Major League Cricket games will be played there for the first time.

The San Francisco Unicorns, one of the league's founding teams, will finally have home-field advantage.

Despite the Oakland A's following the Oakland Raiders in leaving this iconic stadium, the second largest sport in the world will be taking their place this summer.

MLC leaders say this will bring in some of the best cricket players in the world.

This means the Oakland Coliseum will become the first stadium in North America to host the two most popular sports in the world, soccer and cricket, as the Oakland Roots just played their first soccer game at the Coliseum over the weekend.

MORE: Historic night for Oakland Roots with sell-out crowd at 1st home game at Oakland Coliseum

The Oakland Roots made history with their opening kick at - their first-ever home game at the Oakland Coliseum to the chants of a sell-out crowd.

For those who don't know much about the sport of cricket, just know that Saurabh Netravalkar is a big deal. He helped the U.S. national cricket team bet powerhouse Pakistan at last year's World Cup.

"So it was a really close game. It was tied on scores. And that went to a Super Over. It's like a penalty shoot-out in soccer. And that over was balled by me," says Netravalkar with a big smile.

And now, the man whose day job is software engineer at Oracle, is bringing his game to the Coliseum.

"About six years ago, a bunch of us got together and said, 'Look, the time is right to bring cricket to the U.S.'" says Anand Rajaraman, a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur and co-owner of the San Francisco Unicorns.

San Francisco is one of six teams that currently make up the league, which includes Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York City, and Washington, D.C, the team Netravalkar plays for.

The league kicks off its third season in June.

RELATED: Everything Bay Area baseball fans need to know about cricket before MLC games at Oakland Coliseum

"So, even though we were the San Francisco Unicorns, we never played at home until this season. And so, I'm so excited to being playing in front of our home crowd," Rajaraman.

MLC picked the Oakland Coliseum because it's the only stadium in North American big enough for a cricket field.

When asked why it has taken so long for cricket to catch on in the United States, Johnny Grave, CEO Major League Cricket responds by saying: "That's a really good questions. But it is definitely here now. We are part of a billion invest of the sport it this country."

He hopes the popularity of cricket will gain momentum leading up the L.A. Olympics in 2028, in which cricket makes its Olympic return.

The season will be short - just one month. But that allows for top players from around world to take time off from other leagues to play here. Some earning upwards of $80,000.

Cricket matches can be long - some lasting up to five days. But MLC will play a format called T-20, which is 3.5 hours long.

MORE: A's say goodbye to Oakland with emotional final win at Coliseum

The Athletics said their final goodbye to Oakland on Thursday as thousands of fans gathered to mourn the loss of their beloved team.

MLC only signed a one-year deal to play in Oakland because of the current uncertainty surrounding the sale of the Coliseum. This season is expected to bring in $3 million for Oakland. Still an important revenue source for a city facing $140 million budget deficit.

"These past few years, the Coliseum and arena have done very well, to where we are getting money back. So, when we reopened the fire stations, we used money from the revenue generated here at the Coliseum and at the arena," explains Interim Oakland Mayor Kevin Jenkins.

MLC says the Bay Area is home to the second largest cricket fan base in the United States, many of who are of South Asian descent. Fans like Omer Chaudhary and his son, who play in local leagues.

Chaudhary says he started playing cricket when he was four years old growing up in Pakistan. Adding it used to be hard to watch cricket living in the U.S. So, he is excited about MLC coming to the Bay Area.

"So I think now, the fact that we will have, in our backyard, we can go watch a game at the coliseum. And then, also, as a sports fan in general, some of the Bay Area teams exiting recently, and some of them not doing so well recently, too. So, I think as a general sports fan in the Bay Area, this will be good addition. Very refreshing," says Chaudhary, proudly wearing his Pakistan team jersey.

MLC's season begins June 12. Tickets go on sale on Thursday.