The inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket saw MI New York win the title in the finals after they beat Seattle Orcas by 7 wickets. It was glory and triumph in equal numbers as they etched history to win the first-ever Major League Cricket title.
The core of the team remains the same as the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard and Trent Boult will be the key members to watch out for. Undoubtedly, they have one of the strongest and most formidable sides in this competition.
Several USA cricketers in the form of Monank Patel, Steven Taylor and Shayan Jahangir will be players to watch out for as Kieron Pollard and co. look to defend their title.
In this article, we take a look at 3 reasons why MI New York can defend their title in Major League Cricket 2024:
1. Well-rounded balanced side
MI New York have a lot of superstars in their team and all of them would be looking to sparkle together in order to win something big in the 2nd edition of the Major League Cricket 2024.
The batting department has some big guns in the form of Nicholas Pooran, Tim David and Kieron Pollard. On the other hand, the bowlers in the form of Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult and Sunny Singh will be looking to leave a mark.
2. Able leadership
MI New York’s captain Kieron Pollard has served the Mumbai-branch of the MI franchise for 14 long seasons and is also the present batting coach of Mumbai Indians. He is a vastly experienced campaigner and has won a lot of titles in this T20 franchise cricketing career.
Pollard had sustained a shoulder injury in the last league game of MI New York in the previous edition and therefore Nicholas Pooran, had to don the captain’s hat.
The swashbuckling southpaw led the team extremely well and also played a jaw-dropping innings in the finals to lift the title. Pooran had smashed 137* runs in 55 deliveries and had sent shockwaves down the spines of the opposition team.
3. Quality domestic talent
MI New York have USA’s cricket team’s captain Monank Patel in their ranks and also have Steven Taylor. Both these players had a good outing in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and would be confident of good performances in this competition.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Nosthush Kenjige will be another key talent to watch out for and he has grown in confidence, in the last few years. Kenjige had bagged 3 wickets in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 for USA.
