Cricket
Major Cricket League (MLC) 2023: Full List of Players, Squads, Teams: All You Need to Know
Major Cricket League (MLC) 2023: The inaugural Major Cricket League is officially conducted by US cricket. The latest global T20 franchise tournament will feature domestic cricketers from America alongside international T20 stars.
The Major Cricket League will kick off later in July, but the player draft was held on March 20 with six franchises battling for supremacy.
There will be six teams will participate in the event, four of which are either wholly or partially owned by the current IPL franchise.
Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Chennai Super Kings are the Indian investors. KKR owns the Los Angeles-based team, Mumbai takes charge of the New York-based franchise while Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, and DC have partnered to jointly own the Seattle Orcas team. CSK owners will co-own the Texas-based team.
After the first half of the Minor League Cricket (MiLC) season in July, the teams will have another opportunity to select a U-23 domestic player through a similar draft process.
With each team permitted to have a maximum of eight foreign players in its squad, international player signings will take place outside of the draft process. There can be 18 players in the squad at most.
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The full player list for MLC 2023:
Seattle Orcas
Quinton de Kock, Mitchell Marsh, Harmeet Singh, Shehan Jayasuriya, Shubham Ranjane, Cameron Gannon, Aaron Jones, Nauman Anwar, Phani Simhadri, Angelo Perera, Matthew Tromp
Washington Freedom
Anrich Nortje, Wanindu Hasaranga, Andries Gous, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Saurabh Netravalkar, Saad Ali, Dane Piedt, Sujith Gowda, Justin Dill, Akhilesh Bodugum
MI New York
Steven Taylor, Hammad Azam, Ehsan Aiil, Nosthush Kenjige, Monank Patel, Sarbjeet Singh Ladda, Shayan Jahangir, Kyle Phillip, Saideep Ganesh
San Francisco Unicorns
Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Tajinder Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Carmi Le Roux, Brody Couch, David White, Smit Patel, Sanjay Krishnamurthi
Los Angeles Knight Riders
Ali Khan, Unmukt Chand, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Corne Dry, Ali Sheikh, Saif Badar, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Bhaskar Yadram
Team Texas
Rusty Theron, Calvin Savage, Lahiru Milantha, Milind Kumar, Sami Aslam, Cameron Stevenson, Cody Chetty, Zia Shahzad, Saiteja Mukkamalla
One of the most high-profile names in USA cricket, Unmukt Chand, who captained India’s U-19 World Cup-winning team in the past was snapped up by LA Knight Riders in the draft. He became the LA Knight Riders’ second pick and brings plenty of experience having featured in the IPL as well.
Earlier in the first round of the draft, Harmeet Singh, who featured in India’s U19 World Cup winning side in 2012 alongside Chand, was the first overall pick after a quick move from Seattle Orcas.
The LA Knight Riders did some good work at the draft by not only landing Chand, and USA wicketkeeper Jaskaran Malhotra, but they also landed former Canada captain Nitish Kumar.
MLC 2023 squads after the draft:
Los Angeles Knight Riders: Ali Khan, Unmukt Chand, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Corne Dry, Ali Sheikh, Saif Badar, Shadley Van Schalhywh, Bhaskar Yadram.
MI New York: Steven Taylor, Hammad Azam, Ehsan Adil, Nosthush Henjige, Monank Patel, Sarbjeet Ladda, Shayan Jahangir, Usman Rafiq, Saideep Ganesh.
Texas Super Kings: Rusty Theron, Calvin Savage, Lahiru Milantaha, Milind Kumar, Sami Aslam, Cameron Stevenson, Cody Chetty, Zia Shahzad, Saiteja Mukamalla.
Seattle Orcas: Quinton de Kock, Mitchell Marsh, Harmeet Singh, Shehan Jayasuriya, Shubham Ranjani, Cameron Gannon, Aaron Jones, Nauman Anwar, Phani Simhadri, Angelo Perera, Matthew Tromp.
Washington Freedom: Anrich Nortje, Wanindu Hasaranga, Andries Gous, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Saurabh Netravalhar, Saad Ali, Dane Piedt, Sujith Gowda, Justin Dill, Akhilesh Bodugum.
San Francisco Unicorns: Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Tajinder Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Carmi Le Roux, Brody Couch, David White, Smit Patel, Sanjay Krishnamurthi.
Cricket
DDCA President Confirms Virat Kohli Will Play Ranji Trophy After 12 Years
DDCA President Confirms Virat Kohli Will Play Ranji Trophy After 12 Years: Indian star batsman Virat Kohli is set to play his first Ranji Trophy game since 2012 after making himself available for Delhi’s tie against Railways scheduled here on Jan 30.
Due to a neck strain, Kohli was unable to go to Rajkot for Delhi’s forthcoming away encounter against Saurashtra on January 23. However, he has informed the DDCA that he is available for the team’s last league game of the Ranji Trophy.
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“Virat has conveyed to DDCA president (Rohan Jaitley) and team management that he is available for the game against Railways,” Delhi head coach Sarandeep Singh told PTI.
After the series loss in Australia earlier this month, the BCCI has mandated that its contracted cricket players play local cricket unless they have a fitness concern.
Kohli last played a Ranji Trophy match in November 2012 when Delhi took on Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad.
Thanks to BCCI’s directive, the last two rounds of Ranji Trophy will be star-studded affairs.
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When Rishabh Pant, a colleague of Kohli’s from India and Delhi, enters the field in Rajkot, it will be his first Ranji match in six years. In the Railways game, he was again spotted with Kohli.
India skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed his availability for Mumbai’s home match against Jammu & Kashmir following the selection of the Champions Trophy roster on Saturday.
Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ravindra Jadeja are among the other Indian talents who will play for their respective teams in the upcoming Ranji Trophy round.
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After India lost their second consecutive Test series, there was a growing call for Rohit and company to play red-ball cricket. India lost 1-3 in Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after being blanked 3-0 at home by New Zealand.
In Australia, Rohit and Kohli both enjoyed a memorable series. Due to his dismal record, Rohit chose to sit himself for the final Test match in Sydney. During the series, Kohli was caught in the slip cordon off balls outside the off-stump up to eight times.
Both Rohit and Kohli want to be among the runs going into the Champions Trophy next month, but India’s next Test match is against England in June.
Cricket
Champions Trophy 2025: Why Karun Nair Not Picked in India’s Squad
Champions Trophy 2025: Why Karun Nair Not Picked in India’s Squad – Karun Nair, who has been outstanding with his form for Vidarbha in the recent edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was not picked in India’s 15-man Champions Trophy 2025.
Despite his strong results, Nair was passed over by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee.
With an extraordinary average of 752 runs without getting dismissed, Nair has been a standout player in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, leading the run-scoring statistics with an incredible 752 runs in just 8 matches.
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His exceptional form and consistency are demonstrated by his five centuries during the contest.
Many anticipated that Nair would return to the Indian team after an 8-year sabbatical, especially after his impressive performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
But other batters on the team were more worthy of a slot, according to the selection committee.
While praising Nair for his outstanding performance, Agarkar emphasized that the chosen batters had merited their spots in the team.
Read More | WPL 2025 Full Schedule: List of Matches, Venue, Teams, Date, & Time
“Averaging 750+ is simply insane, Performances like his don’t happen often. However, with only 15 spots available, we can’t fit everyone,” Agarkar said about Nair at the press conference after announcing India’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. “It was difficult to find a place and all those who have been picked have averaged in mid-40s,” he added.
By keeping important players from the 2023 ODI World Cup, India has put together a strong batting lineup for the Champions Trophy 2025. Shubman Gill is anticipated to open with captain Rohit Sharma, while young sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal has received his first ODI call-up for the tournament.
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Shreyas Iyer is anticipated to finish at number four, while the always reliable Virat Kohli will take his customary position at number three.
The selection problem is to decide between Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul for the wicket-keeper batsman position, which adds an intriguing twist to India’s squad. The acquisition of all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar will improve India’s batting strength, depth, and flexibility.
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