MLC 2025: Five domestic players to keep an eye on
Reigning champions Washington Freedom will be aiming to defend their Major League Cricket (MLC) title in the upcoming 2025 season.
Under head coach Ricky Ponting, we clinched our maiden MLC title after beating San Francisco Unicorns by 96 runs in the 2024 Championship in Dallas.
Ahead of the new season, we have assembled a formidable squad for MLC 2025 with top overseas cricketers and talented domestic stars.
As we look to claim back-to-back MLC titles, this time under newly appointed captain Glenn Maxwell, here we take a look at some of our domestic players who will be crucial for us in MLC 2025.
Saurabh Netravalkar
USA’s star fast bowler Saurabh Netravalkar will once again lead our bowling attack in the upcoming 2025 season. The 33-year-old left-arm pacer played a pivotal role in guiding us to our maiden MLC title last season. Netravalkar emerged as the top wicket-taker in MLC 2024 with 15 scalps in seven games at an economy of 7.67. Among the USA players, he has bagged the most wickets (25) in MLC history.
Andries Gous
Swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous will be one of the domestic players to watch out for in the forthcoming season. Gous was part of our title-winning campaign and has featured in both seasons for us since the inception of MLC in 2023. He has already scored 295 runs in 14 games at an average of 29.50 and a strike rate of 123.94.
Mukhtar Ahmed
Mukhtar Ahmed will don the Washington Freedom’s jersey for the third consecutive season. Batting lower down the order, Ahmed contributed with some crucial runs during our championship-winning campaign. Since 2023, he has scored 120 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 122.44 and could play a vital role in the upcoming season.
Obus Pienaar
All-rounder Obus Pienaar has been an integral member of our team since 2023. Batting in the middle-order, Pienaar made some valuable contributions in our MLC 2024 triumph as he managed 78 runs at a strike rate of 127.86. Overall, he has accumulated 173 runs in two seasons for us at an impressive average of 57.66 and could once again play a crucial role in MLC 2025.
Abhishek Paradkar
Our new recruit, Abhishek Paradkar will be one of the domestic stars to keep an eye on in MLC 2025. We strengthened our bowling attack by signing Paradkar in the recent MLC domestic players draft for the upcoming season. The talented left-arm pacer has made his international debut for the USA in both white-ball formats. He has bagged nine ODI wickets and four T20I scalps so far.
