Pooran and Maxwell to lead MI NY and Freedom as four out of six teams announce their skippers for the MLC season.
Pooran and Maxwell appointed captains of their respective MLC franchises.
MI New York’s captain for the forthcoming Major League Cricket (MLC) season is Nicholas Pooran, who announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Tuesday. He takes Kieron Pollard’s place in the role.
He joined MI New York after being selected in the 2023 draft, and he played a significant part in the team’s victory. He scored 137* in 55 balls against the Seattle Orcas in the championship game, and he finished as the season’s top scorer (388), 124 runs ahead of the Orcas’ Quinton de Kock, who finished in second place.
Pooran and the MI franchise have a long history together. He was acquired by MI prior to the 2017 IPL, however he was released before the season began. Since then, he has played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab (now known as the Punjab Kings), and the Lucknow Super Giants. Although the player wasn’t pleased, he has played for their team in the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates.
At the six-team MLC, Pooran is not the only new captain. The Washington Freedom’s captain is Glenn Maxwell, who recently announced his retirement from ODI cricket to concentrate on T20 cricket in the run-up to the World Cup next year.
Heinrich Klaasen has also been confirmed to remain captain of the Orcas, while Corey Anderson, who spent the majority of his top-flight cricket career with New Zealand before deciding to support the United States, will continue to lead the San Francisco Unicorns, making him the only “local” captain of a side at MLC.
The Texas Super Kings and Los Angeles Knight Riders, the other two teams in the competition, have not announced anything in this regard. Faf du Plessis and Sunil Narine lead the two teams in MLC 2024, respectively.
After defeating Unicorns in the previous season’s final, Freedom is the reigning MLC champion. On June 13, a game between Freedom and Unicorns will take place in Oakland to begin the new season. July 12 is the date of the final.