This July, fans can watch 23 international players who participated in the
inaugural season play in the USA.
Following the June T20 World Cup, several of the top short-form cricket players
in the world will remain in North America. Players like Rashid Khan, Trent
Boult, Heinrich Klaasen, and Haris Rauf have been retained by their teams for
the July Major League Cricket (MLC) II.
The T20 World Cup final in Barbados will take place five days after the USA's
July 4th Independence Day, and many players are anticipated to compete in both
competitions. As late as last year, MLC's tournament director, Justin Geale,
stated, "We expect to see even more world-class players taking part in
season two."
The defending champions MI New York have held onto seven of the twenty-three
foreign players who have been retained for the second season. Among them is
Nicholas Pooran, who in the inaugural season's final struck 137 not out off 55
balls; other players include Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Dewald Brevis, Kagiso
Rabada, Boult, and Rashid.
The Seattle Orcas will welcome back Klaasen, who won MVP at the SA20 earlier this month, along with fellow countrymen Wayne Parnell and Quinton de Kock, who captained the team the previous season. Imad Wasim will also be retained. Stephen Fleming's Texas Super Kings kept Mitchell Santner, Faf du Plessis, and Devon Conway.
Since his county has not yet confirmed the specifics of his 2024 contract,
Jason Roy may miss some of Surrey's T20 Blast group matches as he returns to
the LA Knight Riders. The other four players who have been kept are Andre
Russell, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa, and Sunil Narine.
Just two foreign players from the Washington Freedom's 2023
class have been kept on by new coach Ricky Ponting: Marco Jansen and Akeal
Hosein. The San Francisco Unicorns have also made changes to their overseas
roster; as of now, the only two players they have kept are Rauf and Finn Allen
of New Zealand.
After declaring their initial retentions, teams will now approach players on
the open market, with up to six foreign players allowed in a single playing XI
and a maximum of nine overseas players allowed in each squad. By the end of the
month, domestic retentions must be verified. A local player draft will take
place in March.
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