The 2025 MLC Preseason Poll
Because where else are you going to start a newsletter about American cricket in June?
After watching the IPL at work most of the spring looking for pointers on how to enhance my day job – the league’s constant use of highlight packages like they think the audience has the attention span of a goldfish offers plenty of chances to take notes – I’m ready for a good stretch of primetime domestic cricket. Nothing beats coming home, cracking open a cold beverage (or concocting one from arrayed supplies), and watching Saurabh Netravalkar bowl to Faf du Plessis while everyone is chill and thinks it’s perfectly normal.
Major League Cricket is imperfect - it still has that plastic feel going into year three as teams have not gotten stadium projects off the ground, and we could just as easily be talking about MI Spokane and the Mankato Knight Riders. But for all its faults, this competition has done really good things for the game here because it gives us a common touchpoint to talk about that Americans have (some kind of) access to. It’s also the closest cricket in the United States has been to the pinnacle of the sport since the halcyon days of 1844.
So MLC 2025 is rightfully the talk of the American cricket village, and I, as the self-proclaimed village idiot, am ready to declare a finishing order and players to watch for this season. These rosters look like a lot of fun on the outside, but everyone is vulnerable to injuries, match fees, weird coaching decisions, and reactionary immigration okie-dokes. I see three teams that can feasibly win the whole thing, two that feel very boom-or-bust, and one that looks like it will be there. I fully look forward to being wrong about all of it virtually immediately.
Teams are listed in projected order of finish with international players noted at captains listed in bold. (Glenn Maxwell is Washington’s vice captain and thus I expect him to lead the team in Steve Smith’s absence.)
Editor’s Note, June 11: This piece was published before MI New York announced Nicholas Pooran as captain and also before Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai were ruled out for the 2025 season. The article below HAS NOT been changed to reflect this information.
1. New York
MINY’s response to getting thumped by 9 wickets in the eliminator last year was to go out and get two high-level Afghanistan players in bowler Naveen ul-Haq and allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai to get some high-level pace alongside Trent Boult. Naveen has yet to make his success in international T20s translate to franchise cricket, but Omarzai is coming off a run to the IPL final where he was a regular with Punjab.
Boult, for his part, had a strong year with Mumbai but was uneven in the early rounds in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah at the other end; the emergence of a good partner to bowl the other way in the power play will be huge for him in MLC. Rashil Ugarkar and Ehsan Adil both return and hope to take on a bigger role in the bowling unit, and the spin corps is led by the in-form Nosthush Kenjige and the inimitable Rashid Khan, making it the premier unit in MLC in 2025 and a pair that should be very effective at stemming the flow of runs in the middle overs.
MI also revamped their opening unit with the bats. Shayan Jahangir and Dewald Brevis are out, replaced by veteran opener Quentin de Kock and the intriguing Detroit-born Agni Chopra who made a splash in Indian first-class cricket and also hit a pair of 50s in his last five T20s in India with Mizoram last winter. Those two should build much better platforms for Nicholas Pooran and Monank Patel to do their damage and give New York a chance to win every game this season. Throw in New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell aiming for better than a dismal run with Seattle last year and X-factor allrounder George Linde, who averaged 40 for MI Cape Town with the bat and took 11 wickets in 8 innings with the ball in their SA20 title run, and this lineup feels like it has both star power and some depth, and you need both to feel like a favorite.
PROJECTED LINEUP
1. Quentin de Kock (Intl)
2. Agni Chopra
3. Nicholas Pooran (Intl)
4. Monank Patel
5. Michael Bracewell (Intl)
6. Kieron Pollard (Intl)
7. Rashid Khan (Intl)
8. Heath Richards
9. Ehsan Adil
10. Trent Boult (Intl)
11. Nosthush Kenjige
Player to Watch: Agni Chopra. The son of an Indian movie director makes his own cinematic magic with the bat - his first class debut with Mizoram saw him go for 166 off 179 while the rest of the team combined for 48, then he hit 92 off 74 in the second innings when they were forced to follow-on. Chopra is a US citizen by virtue of his birth in Detroit, making him a prospect worth evaluating for a possible role in the national team, which feels pretty wide open at the top of the order despite the recent form of Jahangir.
2. San Francisco
My knee-jerk reaction was to have the Unicorns third instead of second, but as I looked up and down this roster, this team is just so damn FUN. They have considerable depth, and while they may not have a household name like Pat Cummins in the bowling attack this season, this team may just have the right mix.
Cummins signed a two year deal with the Unicorns before the 2024 season but will honor the second year in 2026 as Australia tours the West Indies. While being without one of the world's best pacers is a dent in the arsenal, Xavier Bartlett should prove an adequate understudy. The 26 year old white ball ace will spearhead an attack that is deep on pace with the likewise addition of Romario Shepherd, who comes over from MI New York last season and just won the IPL with RCB where he also averaged 35 with the bat. Brody Couch, Carmi Le Roux, Haris Rauf, and Liam Plunkett contend for an extra spot, though Rauf will likely rotate with Bartlett to keep international numbers squared up.
The bats have plenty of punch with Finn Allen at the top along with Matt Short or Jake Fraser-McGurk, the latter of whom is at a breaking point with his international career after being dropped by Australia for Mitchell Owen in the wake of an underwhelming IPL. Hassan Khan and Sanjay Krishnamurthi provide adequate spin and handy bats. Khan will be tested in particular to follow up his exceptional 2024 where he averaged 40 with the bat as well as 15 with the ball. New Zealand keeper Tim Seifert adds to the offense, and 21 year old Cooper Connolly joining the squad after a great year with Perth in the Big Bash League could push Hammad Azam to as low as 7th in the order... which is scary to think about in all the best ways.
Even their depth players are at least fun. Karima Gore just lit up the Leeward Islands T20 for the Antigua and Barbuda Master Blasters (yes I know it's Viv's nickname but I had to use that), scoring 150 runs in 3 innings and posting the second-highest score of the tournament with a 79 off 51 on June 1. Achilles Browne is a serious prospect for American cricket with his all-around athleticism. This team feels well-constructed and complete, and if they gel, they could be fun.
So, why aren't they top of the stack to start the year? Well... there isn't a "dude" in this lineup. There are a lot of really good players, but there isn't one I look at as someone who could single handedly win them a game with the bat. I could easily see a situation where they lose a couple of wickets early and Krishnamurthi and Connolly have to carry the team back into a game but can't put the hammer down. To me, that's the only thing that keeps this particular crew out of the final.
PROJECTED LINEUP
1. Finn Allen (Intl)
2. Matt Short (Intl)
3. Sanjay Krishnamurthi
4. Cooper Connolly (Intl)
5. Tim Seifert (Intl)
6. Hassan Khan
7. Hammad Azam
8. Corey Anderson
9. Romario Shepherd (Intl)
10. Brody Couch
11. Xavier Bartlett (Intl)
Player to Watch: Sanjay Krishnamurthi. A potential future captain for the US side, there’s a compelling case for him to be the next captain for San Francisco as well. He turned heads with an unbeaten 79 off 42 balls last July to hand eventual champions Washington their first loss of the season and has continued his rise from there, handing in several strong performances with the bat in both white ball formats over the last 10 months plus a three wicket ODI haul on just 20 deliveries against Canada at Lauderhill on May 17. His skill is apparent, his composure is supreme, and his potential is extraordinary. He will be heavily scrutinized this season.
3. Washington
The reigning champs are not quite as formidable at the top of the batting order as they were in 2025. Travis Head and Steve Smith were a juggernaut pair that ripped through all resistance with a staggering 672 combined runs in 9 innings, but with Australia touring the West Indies, Head is completely unavailable and Smith is hoping to sneak in two matches to at least help the team he captains get to the top of the table. That's a void that had to be filled, and the Freedom couldn’t have done much better given the circumstances.
Mitchell Owen was impossible to miss during Hobart's run to the Big Bash League title over the winter, averaging 40 with the bat at a 200 strike rate with a pair of centuries including an iconic 108 off 42 in the final in January. He was unable to replicate that success in the PSL, but hopes will be high for him to find that form again in the States this summer ahead of a five-match T20I series in the West Indies that starts the week after MLC crowns a champion.
The good news is, the middle order still looks great. Andries Gous could either open or slot in at three with Rachin Ravindra moving up to partner Owen, while Glenn Maxwell returns after a strong 2024 and Glenn Phillips is expected back after bowing out of the 2024 MLC season. The Freedom also picked up Mark Chapman, who had a forgettable spring in Pakistan but has had great bursts of form for New Zealand, including 94 against a touring Pakistan side in Auckland earlier this year.
The frontline bowling attack is beyond reproach, spearheaded by the dynamite pair of Netravalkar and Lockie Ferguson once again with Ravinda, Maxwell, and Yasir Mohammad providing the spin - Maxwell's bowling figures last season were very strong, in particular. Flamethrower Ben Sears is also in the mix, and Abhishek Paradkar will likely command playing time if only because this crew needs at least one more domestic player.
The real challenge for Ricky Ponting is finding the right mix of internationals and the right balance in the bowling to make it all pop off, but if he does, it just reinforces the legacy he has built for himself as a great mind in the strategic layer of the game, putting his players in positions to succeed time and time again. This roster is hardly devoid of talent, but it will take more work from Punter this time around to make all the pieces fit. Don't be surprised if they stumble a couple of times out of the gate and find their feet in Grand Prairie. This team is still very much a threat to repeat.
PROJECTED LINEUP
1. Mitchell Owen (Intl)
2. Rachin Ravindra (Intl)
3. Andries Gous
4. Mark Chapman (Intl)
5. Glenn Maxwell (Intl)
6. Glenn Phillips (Intl)
7. Ian Holland
8. Abhishek Paradkar
9. Yasir Mohammad
10. Lockie Ferguson (Intl)
11. Saurabh Netravalkar
Player to Watch: Mitchell Owen. I said all that needs to be said, but this guy can hit bombs. He crushed 11 sixes in that spectacular century in the BBL final, and it’s a small miracle they had any balls left the way he made it fly. He may have an especially tough time with the drop-in minefields in Oakland, but as the league moves to Texas and Florida, he will be electric to watch.
4. Seattle
As I was getting ready to publish this, I initially had the Orcas last. Then I changed my mind late and moved them to fifth. And, less than an hour before I put this thing out there, I moved them up to fourth. Why? Because there’s too much talent for this team to be outright bad.
Their roster is far from boring, and there will be competition up and down the lineup all season, like the likely platoon of Gulbadin Naib (assuming his hamstrings hold out) and Shimron Hetmeyer in the middle order depending on the need for a more explosive bat or an effective arm. The biggest battle, however, may be at the top, where Steven Taylor will be fighting to hang onto his role as an opener, likely alongside David Warner to start. Shayan Jahangir has been in great form with the national team and a new clubhouse environment in MLC should help him keep that going. Jahangir can bat fifth or sixth and has done that in the past, but it’s clear he’s most effective at the top. What does Heinrich Klaasen do, and how much slack does Taylor get to start the season? With Jahangir challenging to open and Ali Sheikh waiting for his opportunity in the middle order, does Taylor get any slack?
Wicket machine Fazalhaq Farooqi will lead the pace attack this season alongside Cameron Gannon, late addition Obed McCoy, and fan favorite Jessy Singh who comes over from Washington looking to bring good vibes to a team in need of them. Farooqi failed to collect a single wicket in the IPL this season, a first in his franchise T20 career, but he was dominant in the ILT20 over the winter and can swing the ball like nobody’s business. I personally am hopeful for more work for young lefty Ayan Desai, one of the brightest prospects in the domestic pipeline who showed well in limited work against Texas last year. Harmeet Singh and Sikandar Raza can provide the spin, as can Waqar Salamkheil, who was good in the BBL with Hobart and a decent ILT20 with MI Emirates.
I think this team has a higher ceiling than even I am willing to give them credit for. Are they good enough to win a title? I don’t think so. Could they ruin someone else’s title hopes? Absolutely.
PROJECTED LINEUP
1. Steven Taylor
2. David Warner (Intl)
3. Aaron Jones
4. Heinrich Klaasen (Intl)
5. Shayan Jahangir
6. Gulbadin Naib (Intl)
7. Sikandar Raza (Intl)
8. Waqar Salamkheil (Intl)
9. Jessy Singh
10. Fazalhaq Farooqi (Intl)
11. Cameron Gannon
Player to Watch: Fazalhaq Farooqi. The ability to attack hitters in the power play is so important, and there are so few who are good at it. Farooqi is one of them. He was sensational to watch in Afghanistan’s run to the T20 World Cup semifinals last year, and his ability to get both conventional and reverse swing with the new ball makes him a massive asset. If he’s locked in - and he should be - he will make Seattle’s other bowlers better by forcing batsmen to play shots off Gannon and Singh.
5. Texas
While Texas doesn't look like a title contender in 2025, they have more than enough talent to put on a show for the home fans in Grand Prairie. They bat deep - Faf keeps his pool toys in the Fountain of Youth at this point, and he and Devon Conway form a strong opening partnership that is backed up by outstanding T20I batter Saiteja Mukkamalla and Milind Kumar. Marcus Stoinis, Smit Patel, and Joshua Tromp make up a capable middle order. And the spin unit is exemplary, led by budding star Noor Ahmad and backed up by Milind and the newly acquired Akeal Hosein as well as returning Mohammad Mohsin.
So... we need to talk about the pacers, and not the ones playing in the NBA Finals right now.
Zia-ul-Haq isn't bad. His numbers last year were fine. Stoinis was the other pacer who got used the most last season, and he's a decent contributor but not a frontline option. Calvin Savage took a couple of wickets against Seattle and had a few handy knocks with the bat, but can that sustain for 10+ games? The pace attack looks uninspiring and is one pulled hamstring away from bowling spin in the power play, which feels like a really, really bad idea anywhere, but especially in Grand Prairie.
PROJECTED LINEUP
1. Devon Conway (Intl)
2. Faf du Plessis (Intl)
3. Saiteja Mukkamalla
4. Milind Kumar
5. Marcus Stoinis (Intl)
6. Smit Patel
7. Joshua Tromp
8. Calvin Savage
9. Akeal Hosein (Intl)
10. Noor Ahmad (Intl)
11. Zia-ul-Haq
Player to Watch: Joshua Tromp. With lots of options of players who are established or in-form, I went with the deep cut who isn’t really either of those. The freshly-turned 20 year old caught attention with a valiant 56 not-out for TSK last year trying to chase down 200 alongside Faf in a playoff loss to San Francisco. He has been hunting good form ever since. Was that unbeaten half-century a flash in the pan or the start of something bigger? We should know after two or three matches.
6. Los Angeles
This team has true Hollywood style, and by that I mean "here's the same stuff over and over again."
Look, there's not a lot to recommend the Knight Riders this year. They're old, they're not very deep, and they're prone to wild swings in form. Sunil Narine had a nice rebound in the IPL this season, but his career average with LAKR is a whopping 8.00 and he's locked into opening alongside Alex Hales who is hoping to sustain good form from the PSL. Narine is 37 and Hales is 36.
The middle order still should include Unmukt Chand, who has a chance to stick it to his haters once and for all with a year that builds on his good 2024. Sherfane Rutherford and Rovman Powell provide some much-needed support with the bat, and Nitish Kumar should still have an opportunity to contribute down the order. Overall, though, there’s just not a ton of reliable run production.
The bowling attack should feature Spencer Johnson and Ali Khan heavily, although Ali is approaching the dreaded pace cliff in his mid-late 30s and got lit up in the ILT20 over the winter. Anrich Nortje is expected to be in the squad as well, which could be a significant boost, but he played very sparingly last year in MLC and has had a turbulent year: a back injury cost him a spot in the Champions Trophy, then he made headlines in the IPL for his bat failing testing as he was walking out to hit 11th in a season-opening loss to Punjab... after which he got blasted by Hyderabad and was dropped. Nortje has been plagued by injuries for years, but sometimes the universe just wants to kick you in the pants. That should fit right in with LA this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP
1. Alex Hales (Intl)
2. Sunil Narine (Intl)
3. Unmukt Chand
4. Sherfane Rutherford (Intl)
5. Rovman Powell (Intl)
6. Nitish Kumar
7. Andre Russell (Intl)
8. Corne Dry
9. Shadley van Schalkwyk
10. Anrich Nortje (Intl)
11. Ali Khan
Player to Watch: Unmukt Chand. I have never seen a player in any sport get so little publicity and yet be so divisive. There are people who will tell you USA Cricket is run by morons for not selecting Chand for the national team, and there are people who will tell you he is a washed-out bum who has no business in international cricket. I think they’re both wrong, but it’s funny to watch. He’s not a great player, but he’s not an awful player, and that may be about as good as it gets for LA this season.
Stumps & Stripes is a newsletter focusing on American cricket and bringing an American sports perspective to one of the world’s most popular games. Stay tuned for a more concrete content schedule throughout MLC 2025 and the fall international season.