
Alex Hales puts MLC contract over Blast and The Hundred as he is set to play for the LA Knight Riders as well as the CPL.
Alex Hales to skip Blast, Hundred after signing Knight Riders deal.
Alex Hales has signed a contract to play for Knight Riders teams in the Caribbean Premier League and Major League Cricket, but he will miss both the T20 Blast and the Hundred.
Hales, 36, became the second-highest run-scorer in T20 history earlier this month. He retired from international cricket in 2023, but he has continued to play franchise cricket all over the world. He has been a member of Nottinghamshire since 2008, but he recently moved to Dubai and has decided not to sign a new contract, therefore he will not be rejoining the team this summer.
Hales has not ruled out a future comeback, but the decision will put his long-term affiliation with Trent Bridge on pause. Throughout his professional career, he has called the stadium home. He is the top scorer for the Trent Rockets (in the Hundred) and Notts (in the Blast), winning championships with both teams.
Although the ECB has since tightened rules regarding No-Objection Certificates (NOCs), Hales missed six of Nottinghamshire’s 14 Blast group games last year in order to meet a contract at the Lanka Premier League. Therefore, Hales would probably not have been eligible to play abroad during the English season if he had signed a contract with either the Notts or Trent Rockets.
Instead, he will accept an offer from the Knight Riders franchise, which will allow him to play for their teams in the MLC and the CPL, respectively, in Los Angeles and Trinidad. He might also play in the upcoming European T20 Premier League in Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, or he might return to the LPL between the two competitions, depending on the final dates.
Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are two of the players who have played for Knight Riders in two or more countries. Knight Riders own four teams worldwide: Los Angeles, Trinbago, Kolkata, and Abu Dhabi. Their CEO, Venky Mysore, has previously said that it would be “nirvana” for players to sign year-round contracts with an IPL team.
“The last 17 years playing at Trent Bridge for Notts have been an absolute pleasure, and it remains my favourite place in the world to play cricket,” Hales said in a statement. “Some of my best memories have come in a Notts shirt, and some of my closest friendships in the game have been made in that home dressing room.
“Having spent more and more time playing around the world in recent years, heading back to Trent Bridge has always been something I’ve looked forward to. But given the current landscape of the global game as well as having recently moved abroad, unfortunately I won’t be able to return this season… Hopefully I will be able to return at some point in the future.”
After Jason Roy, who ended his ECB incremental contract early to participate in the initial season, Hales will be the second Englishman to appear in MLC. Despite not being signed for 2025, Roy made another appearance for Knight Riders last season and is probably going to play for Surrey for the duration of the Blast season.