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The preparation provided by Major League Cricket (MLC) franchises for the 2025 season, made for much talk as the names of the likes of Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, and David Miller, did not appear on the retention lists. Having completed the retention of players prior to the draft set for February 19, Washington Freedom leads the pack with 15 retained players.
Washington Freedom Releasing Major Players
Washington Freedom, the titleholders, made huge alterations to join them with those who have kept many players intact. They released Travis Head, who together with captain Steven Smith was the joint highest scorer for the season, along with overseas players Akeal Hosein and Andrew Tye.
San Francisco Unicorns Keep Core Run As With Cummins
Retained mostly of their main players, the San Francisco Unicorns also included the explosive Finn Allen and Jake Fraser-McGurk as their opening pair. Pat Cummins, Matt Henry, and Josh Inglis, among others, have been let go, however.
Seattle Orcas Would Conduct Major Revamp
Seattle Orcas retained a mere seven players, the least of all franchises, signaling a total reconstruction of their team. They kept just two foreign players besides the South African duo Heinrich Klaasen and Ryan Rickelton. Among the notable releases are the names of Quinton de Kock, Michael Bracewell, Obed McCoy, and Nandre Burger.
LA Knight Riders Face Draft Challenges
Among the three overseas players retained by LA Knight Riders are Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Australian left-arm quick Spencer Johnson. They let go David Miller, Jason Roy, Shakib Al Hasan, and Adam Zampa, setting up a tough draft ahead for this entirely new team.
MI New York Retains Top Stars, Cuts Rabada and Nortje
MI New York, the first MLC champions, kept its key players like Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Nicholas Pooran, and Rashid Khan. South African speedsters Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje were among the released players along with Tim David and Dewald Brevis.
Texas Super Kings Retain Du Plessis and Conway
As expected, Texas Super Kings retained Faf du Plessis and Devon Conway, who will take the opening batting again. They also kept all-rounder Marcus Stoinis as well as Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad. Big players such as Mitchell Santner, Matheesha Pathirana, Daryl Mitchell, and Naveen-ul-Haq were some of the releases.
Released Some Remarkable Domestic Players
Among them were several domestic players; MI New York's Steven Taylor; Seattle Orcas' Shehan Jayasuriya; and the Washington Freedom's Jasdeep Singh.
MLC 2025 Retained Players List
LA Knight Riders: Ali Khan, Adithya Ganesh, Unmukt Chand, Nitish Kumar, Corne Dry, Saif Badar, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Matthew Tromp, Spencer Johnson, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine
- MI New York: Ehsan Adil, Nosthush Kenjige, Monank Patel, Heath Richards, Rushil Ugarkar, Sunny Patel, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Rashid Khan, Trent Boult
San Francisco Unicorns: Corey Anderson, Hassan Khan, Liam Plunkett, Carmi Le Roux, Brody Couch, Karima Gore, Juanoy Drysdale, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Haris Rauf, Finn Allen, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matthew Short
Seattle Orcas: Harmeet Singh, Cameron Gannon, Ali Sheikh, Ayan Desai, Aaron Jones, Heinrich Klaasen, Ryan Rickelton
Texas Super Kings: Joshua Tromp, Calvin Savage, Milind Kumar, Mohammad Mohsin, Zia-ul-Haq, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Faf du Plessis, Devon Conway, Noor Ahmad, Marcus Stoinis
Washington Freedom: Andries Gous, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ian Holland, Amila Aponso, Justin Dill, Lahiru Milantha, Yasir Mohammad, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Lockie Ferguson, Rachin Ravindra, Steven Smith, Jack Edwards
The MLC franchises would now like to go and attend this draft which promises an exciting line-up in the face of some wonderful players being released for higher profiles of dearer budgets. Except for that, there will be competition among the franchises at an even higher level, as all of them look forward to dethroning Washington Freedom and claiming the MLC title for themselves.
