The six Major League Cricket (MLC) franchises have issued their retain lists which didn’t feature some distinguished international names such as Australia’s long-format captain Pat Cummins, Travis Head, South Africa’s David Miller, the Protea pacer Kagiso Rabada. The draft will take place on February 19.
Washington Freedom, the defending champions, have retained their most players from their previous squad, except for Head, who said he won’t play MLC in the future as he isn’t playing his country’s Big Bash League (BBL). The Aussie Southpaw played a vital role in Washington’s title victory as he ended the tournament as the leading run-getter alongside his Aussie colleague Steven Smith.
Besides Head, Andrew Tye and Akeal Hossein couldn’t make it to Washington’s retained list. LA Knight Riders have kept faith in Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Aussie quick Spencer Johnson while David Miller didn’t get a chance from the team management after his disheartening performance in the last edition of the league. San Francisco Unicorns, who concluded their previous season as the runners-up, have broken ties with Cummins, Josh Inglis, and New Zealand speedster Matt Henry.
Seattle Orcars tinker their squad after the horrendous 2024 season
Seattle Orcas have decided to rebuild their squad as they opted to retain Heinrich Klaasen and Ryan Rickelton. Quinton de Kock, Michale Bracewell, Obed McCoy, and Nandre Burger were missing from the franchise’s retained squad.
Head won’t show up in leagues except for IPL
In January 2025, Travis Head said he won’t participate in any leagues of the world except for IPL. Ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, the star Aussie batter gave the statement. The 31-year-old is currently associated with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL. Head was one of the five players the Sunrisers retained for the 2025 IPL edition. Serving Hyderabad in 2024, he ended up as the fifth-leading run-getter with 567 runs in 15 matches at a brilliant strike rate of 191.55.
