MLC 2026: R Ashwin joins the party; MI New York looks the favorite again

New Delhi: Major League Cricket (MLC) returns for its fourth season on June 18, when the Texas Super Kings will take on the Seattle Orcas at Grande Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The stadium will be the venue for the first seven matches of the 34-game competition before it moves to the Oakland Coliseum in California and the Knight Riders Cricket Ground in Pomona, California.The Knight Riders Cricket Field is one of the two big ‘new’ elements of MLC 2026. It will serve as the home base for the LA Knight Riders franchise, with seven matches scheduled in total. After its christening during the MLC conference, its capacity will be expanded in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

With LAKR taking on Washington Freedom on July 1, this will be a big moment for USA Cricket. This will be the first time that Los Angeles will host a high-profile cricket match.“Bringing Major League Cricket to Los Angeles is a huge milestone for our league and for the growth of cricket across the United States,” said MLC CEO Johnny Graf about the week-long cricket festivities in Southern California.“The Pomona Fairgrounds will be the future home of Olympic cricket in 2028, and we are thrilled to give fans in Southern California their first experience of the sport at this iconic venue that hosts the Los Angeles County Fair.”

The second ‘new’ in MLC 2026 is R Ashwin who will play for San Francisco Unicorns.The 39-year-old is expected to become the first former India international to play in the MLC. This will also be the spinner’s first appearance in a foreign league. He was signed up to play in the Big Bash League but a sudden injury deprived him of that opportunity.Now, he’s ready to impress at the Oakland Coliseum, the Unicorns’ home base. This will be his first competitive match since playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) in July 2025.“When I was interested in playing outside India, when I retired, it was Anand (Rajaraman) and Venky (Harinarayan). [team co-owners] They were the first people to contact them. “They were very excited about me arriving here,” Ashwin said in a video released by the franchise.

“I’m mostly excited because this is not a country where you play a lot of cricket. Even though I’ve played for two decades, I never got the chance to come and experience America.

I’ve been here for a few months. I played some exhibition games at the same place. It’s very different, even for me. “Even though I have played cricket for a long time, I am looking forward to assimilating and integrating with these people,” he added.Elsewhere, veterans and familiar faces return. Steve Smith, who led the Freedom to the title in 2024, returns to take over from Glenn Maxwell. Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, Faf du Plessis and Matt Short have been retained as captains of the LA Knight Riders, defending champions MI New York, Texas Super Kings and Unicorns, respectively.Meanwhile, the Seattle Orcas decided to turn things around after missing the playoffs for two straight seasons, including just three wins in 10 games last time out. Marcus Stoinis will lead the team next season with Adam Voges taking over as coach.

Defending champion MI New York are once again a top contender if their team is any indication. Besides skipper Pooran, who had a dreadful season with Lucknow Super Giants in the ISL, the two-time champions have Kieron Pollard, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickleton, Trent Boult, Corbin Bush, Romario Shepherd, Allah Ghazanfar and Corey Anderson in their midst.Pollard is on the cusp of glory and milestones in MLC 2026. The 39-year-old needs just 81 runs to overtake Chris Gayle as the all-time leading run-scorer in T20s. Alex Hales, part of LAKR, trails Pollard by 33 runs.As with most T20 leagues, there is a question mark over player availability while competitions are in conflict. But the MLC finds itself in a largely favorable position with the 100 not starting until later. The T20 blowout in England, as with the Sri Lanka Premier League, eventually overlaps with the EUT20 in Belgium closing just as the MLC gets underway.

These arrangements could change the plans of AM Ghazanfar (MINY), Romario Shepherd (MINY), Mark Chapman (Freedom), Nikhil Choudhary (Freedom), Rasheen Ravindra (Freedom), Xavier Bartlett (Unicorns), Aaron Hardy (Unicorns), Peter Siddle (Unicorns) and Shimron Hetmyer (Orcas) among others.