The inaugural edition of Major League Cricket in the United States started on Friday. It started with a match between Texas Super Kings and the Los Angeles Knight Riders. The inaugural season has a total of six teams, which will play 19 matches, including the final.
Six out of four teams are owned by the IPL franchises or have co-ownership. Chennai Super Kings owned a Texas-based team, while Mumbai Indians purchased MI New York. The two-time IPL winner Kolkata Knight Riders owned Los Angeles Knight Riders in the competition.
On the other hand, the owners of the Delhi Capitals have some shares in the Seattle Orcas. Thus, one can call it a mini-IPL. With the IPL teams involved in the MLC 2023, it was obvious that they had also picked up the same set of players who played for their team in the IPL.
But surprisingly, there are some Pakistani cricketers as well who are part of the MLC 2023. Notably, Pakistani cricketers are banned from participating in the IPL. But the IPL franchise has picked some of these players for the MLC 2023. Harif Rauf, Shadab Khan, and Imad Wasim are some big Pakistani stars in the tournament.
Haris and Shadab are part of the San Francisco Unicorns, while Imad will play for the Seattle Orcas. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also granted an NOC to the players to take part in the MLC 2023. Not just these players, but several Pakistan-born cricketers, who moved to the USA to pursue their dream are also part of the league.
“I wasn’t expecting to be picked by”- Sami Aslam on being picked by CSK-owned Texas Super Kings
Hammad Azam, Sami Aslam, Ehsan Adil, Saif Badar, Saad Ali, and Mukhtar Ahmed are such players who will play in the competition as USA local players. Azam and Adil will play for the MI-owned New York team. These two announced their international retirements a week ago.
Meanwhile, the director of Minor League Cricket, Zubin Sarkari, confirmed that the former cricketers need to show the NOC from their board to take part in the competition. He also added that players who stay in the USA for at least 10 out of 12 months with a valid VISA will be considered local players.
Meanwhile, former Pakistani player Aslam, who played 13 Tests and four ODIs for Pakistan, was surprised to see an Indian franchise pick him for the tournament. Aslam didn’t play for Pakistan after 2017 and migrated to the USA in 2020. He is part of the CSK-owned Texas Super Kings.
In an interview with Dawn, he opened up about his experience. He said that players who are not part of the PSL want to come here and play. Aslam also revealed that unlike other nations, Pakistan didn’t offer much to its domestic red-ball players, which is why they want to leave the country.
On his first stint with TSK, he said, “I wasn’t expecting to be picked by an IPL franchise because there were rumors of Indian teams not selecting Pakistani players but that didn’t happen. I’m having a lot of fun. It’s a very professional setup. They (Chennai Super Kings) recently won the IPL and it is the same management for the Texas team so it is nice being a part of it.”
