July 2023 will see the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament take place in Dallas, USA – we look at five players currently featuring in the IPL who are set to take the US-based tournament by storm.
The competition will be played from July 13 to July 30 with a number of high-profile international players competing after the tournament received significant financial backing from investors such as Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft.
Six founding teams will take part in the event: the Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom.
MLC 2023: Full list of squads picked in Major League Cricket 2023
Marcus Stoinis
One of Australia’s most popular white-ball all-rounders going around, Stoinis is currently representing Lucknow Super Giants and played a match-winning hand against Royal Challengers Bangalore with 65 from 30 deliveries in a 213-run chase. He also contributed with useful roles in Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup win in the UAE. In ODIs, he holds the record for the second-highest score at No.7 * (146*). Stoinis has signed for the San Francisco Unicorns, where he will be captained by his former national skipper Aaron Finch.
Mitchell Marsh
Joining Stoinis in the MLC is his great friend and Aussie teammate Mitchell Marsh, who has signed for the Seattle Orcas. Marsh has had a tough time with the bat so far for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023, scoring 0, 4 and 0 in his three games, but has been tidy with the ball. He took a short break during the IPL to head back home for his wedding. Given his white-ball form, he could well line up at the top of the order in the upcoming ODI World Cup in India.
Anrich Nortje
The South African pacer is in his fourth season with Delhi Capitals and will play in the MLC for Washington Freedom. Nortje is one of the fastest bowlers in the world and was one of just four players that Delhi retained ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. He took two wickets in the opening match of IPL 2023 but has been wicketless since. In his debut season in 2020, he broke the IPL record for the fastest ball in the tournament’s history (95.88mph).
Wanindu Hasaranga
The Sri Lanka all-rounder previously ranked the No.1 bowler in T20Is, Hasaranga brings star power to Major League Cricket after signing for Washington Freedom where he will play alongside Mitchell Marsh. He made his first appearance in IPL 2023 during RCB’s victory over Delhi Capitals where he bowled three expensive overs but claimed the wicket of Manish Pandey. Last season, he took the second-most wickets (26, for RCB).
Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock has enormous IPL pedigree, having played 92 matches since his debut in 2013. He’s featured for RCB and Mumbai Indians, before joining Lucknow Super Giants, but is yet to play in the 2023 competition. In Major League Cricket he will represent the Seattle Orcas. In IPL 2022, de Kock scored the third-most runs, behind Jos Buttler and KL Rahul.
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