MLC 2023: Pollard To Lead MI New York; Rashid, Boult And Rabada Among Other Star Players

Former West Indies big-hitting all-rounder and legendary T20 cricketer Kieron Pollard will captain MI New York in the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC) to be played in the USA, the franchise announced on Wednesday. 

The squad also includes Afghanistan's T20I captain Rashid Khan, former West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran, New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult and the Australian duo of the big-hitting Tim David and pacer Jason Behrendorff. 

The team will also feature South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada, young batter Dewald Brevis, and veteran Namibian all-rounder David Wiese, who has previously represented South Africa as well. All the players except for Wiese also play across multiple MI Teams -- Mumbai Indians, MI Cape Town and MI Emirates.

In the MLC draft in March, MI New York drafted nine local players in former captain Steven Taylor, all-rounder Nosthush Kenjige, current USA captain Monank Patel, wicketkeeper Shayan Jahangir and fast bowler Kyle Phillip, as well as Hammad Azam, Ehsan Adil, Sarbjeet Ladda and Saideep Ganesh.

Former SA & MI player and MI Cape Town General Manager Robin Peterson will be the head coach, joined by Mumbai Indians legend Lasith Malinga, as bowling coach. J Arun Kumar and James Pamment will take charge as batting and fielding coaches respectively. Both Arun Kumar and Pamment were a part of the coaching team as assistant batting coach and fielding coach at Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023.

"We are thrilled to unveil team MI New York in the upcoming Major League Cricket season. Stalwart Pollard is leading the team which has international superstars Rashid Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, and Kagiso Rabada. It is an extraordinary line-up of youth, experience, and power.

Further, we have exciting talent in the form of Tim David and Brevis, while Jason Behrendorff and David Wiese are proven performers. Combined with the exceptional skills of our local US players, we are confident that MI New York will raise the bar of competition in the cricket ecosystem of the US. We are dedicated to providing our fans with the quintessential MI brand of cricket," said Akash M. Ambani, Owner of Mumbai Indians. 

The 2023 edition of the MLC will be a six-team event set to happen from July 13 to 30 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas. MI New York will play their first match against San Francisco Unicorns on July 14. Other teams in the competition include Los Angeles Knight Riders, Texas Super Kings, Washington Freedom and Seattle Orcas.  

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The squad size of all six teams can be a maximum of 19 players, of which nine can be overseas players. Maximum six international players are permitted in the playing XI, with five domestic players to always feature in each match and ten domestic players on each roster. The overseas players are direct signings by the franchises were not part of the draft.