MI New York won the first edition of the Major League Cricket. Here is the Overseas Team of the 2023 edition.

A number of overseas stars stood out in the USA-based league, and we have picked the best overseas XI of MLC 2023.

Matthew Wade (San Francisco Unicorns)

168 runs @ 33.60, SR: 163.10

Wade’s powerplay strike rate of 188 was the highest among all openers in the season. Though he made only one fifty, he gave his team fiery starts throughout, the highlight being a 41-ball 78 against Los Angeles Knight Riders that propelled San Francisco to 212.

Quinton de Kock (Seattle Orcas) – wicketkeeper

264 runs @ 44, SR: 151.72

Apart from Wade, de Kock was the only opener to make 100 runs at a strike rate of 130 at the 2023 MLC, forcing us to go in with two left-handers at the top. While not at his best in the first six overs – he struck at 117 – he made up for it in the middle overs, scoring at 159. De Kock ended as the second-highest run-scorer in the league, topping his season with 87 in the final.

Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) – captain

388 runs @ 64.66, SR: 167.24

Pooran’s unbeaten 137 in 55 balls in the final helped New York clinch the title, but he was as lethal in the group stage as well. He started with a 28-ball 40 in the opener and also struck two successive sixties and ended as the only player with more than 300 runs in the MLC.

Heinrich Klaasen (Seattle Orcas)

235 runs @ 58.75, SR: 197.47

Klaasen had the best strike rate among all players in the league with 30 runs, and made one of two hundreds in the edition. He reached 25 four times, and had a strike rate of more than 190 thrice. His knock of 110 not out against New York was off 44 balls.

Andre Russell (Los Angeles Knight Riders)

206 runs @ 68.66, SR: 156.06

LAKR finished last, but Russell was the lone performer as he often is with Knight Riders franchises around the world: no one else from the side made more than 135 runs. In the first game, LAKR were all out for 112, Russell top-scoring with a 34-ball 55. He then powered the side in their chase of 213 against San Francisco, and starred in their only win of the season, with an unbeaten 37-ball 70 against Washington Freedom.

Corey Anderson (San Francisco Unicorns)

190 runs @ 47.50, SR: 145.03

There was stiff competition for this spot, but Anderson edged ahead of Tim David for performing better under pressure. He started with an unbeaten 91 after his team had collapsed to 50-4, hitting seven sixes during his match-winning knock. His 20-ball 39 also proved to be a game-changer as the Knight Riders fell 21 runs short of the target of 213.

Shadab Khan (San Francisco Unicorns)

127 runs @ 25.40, SR: 142.69
5 wickets @ 31.20, ER: 9.17

Shadab was the only player to pick up five wickets and make 125 runs in the first MLC. He played a number of handy knocks throughout the season, including a 30-ball 61 in his team’s game against MI New York. He top-scored for San Francisco against Seattle with a 23-ball 37 and rose through the batting order to No.4 as the tournament progressed.

Imad Wasim (Seattle Orcas)

10 wickets @ 15.30, ER: 6.33

Imad was the top wicket-taker among spinners in the tournament, and got a scalp every 14.50 deliveries. He picked up at least one wicket in every match that he played, including ending with two-fors thrice.

Rashid Khan (MI New York)

8 wickets @ 20.50, ER: 6.83

Adam Zampa had nine wickets at a better average, but we picked Rashid due to his heroics in the final against Seattle. In a high-scoring game, Rashid stood out for his spell of 3-9 in four overs, ending as the most economical bowler by a huge margin across both teams, establishing his class in high-octane clashes once again.

Trent Boult (MI New York)

22 wickets @ 10.36, ER: 7.39

Boult picked twice the number of wickets as second-placed Cameron Gannon and Andrew Tye, and was miles ahead of the rest in the league. He finished with less than two wickets only once in eight games, and scalped three successive four-wicket hauls, and claimed 3-34 in the final, including the wicket of de Kock.

Andrew Tye (Seattle Orcas)

11 wickets @ 20.90, ER: 9.20

Though Tye was expensive on occasions, he got the wickets, and ended with a strike rate of 13.63. He was the standout pacer in the team alongside Gannon and picked at least a wicket in his six games.