MI New York Announces Overseas Players Ahead of MLC 2023, Robin Peterson as Head Coach; Lasith Malinga Bowling Coach

MI New York on Wednesday, June 14 announced the signing of 9 international players, completing the roster of 18 players, featuring a strong core of experienced, homegrown talent, and young players, a feature that is common across all the MI teams, in three different continents, four different countries, and five different leagues.

In addition to the players, MI New York have also announced their line-up of coaching staff for the inaugural season.

Mumbai Indians legend Kieron Pollard will captain the franchise and the roster also includes Afghanistan’s T20 captain Rashid Khan and former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran.

They will be joined by New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult and the Aussie duo of the big-hitting Tim David and pacer Jason Behrendorff.

The team will also feature rising South African star Dewald Brevis, pace sensation Kagiso Rabada and Namibian all-rounder David Wiese, who has previously represented South Africa as well. All the players except for David Wiese also play across multiple MI Teams – Mumbai Indians, MI Cape Town and MI Emirates, forming a strong core for MI, globally.

Mr. Akash M. Ambani, Owner of Mumbai Indians, said, “We are thrilled to unveil team MI New York in the upcoming Major League Cricket season. Stalwart Pollard is leading the team which has international superstars Rashid Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, and Kagiso Rabada. It is an extraordinary line-up of youth, experience, and power. Further, we have exciting talent in the form of Tim David and Brevis, while Jason Behrendorff and David Wiese are proven performers. Combined with the exceptional skills of our local US players, we are confident that MI New York will raise the bar of competition in the cricket ecosystem of the US. We are dedicated to providing our fans with the quintessential MI brand of cricket.”

Former SA & MI player and MI Cape Town General Manager Robin Peterson will be the head coach, joined by Mumbai Indians legend Lasith Malinga, as bowling coach. J Arun Kumar and James Pamment will take charge as the batting and fielding coaches respectively. Both Arun Kumar and Pamment were a part of the coaching team as assistant batting coach and fielding coach at Mumbai Indians.

At the MLC draft held on 19th March 2023, MI New York drafted 9 players – the first two USA-born players in the form of former captain Steven Taylor, all-rounder Nosthush Kenjige, current USA captain Monank Patel along with wicketkeeper Shayan Jahangir and fast bowler Kyle Phillip.

Major League Cricket will be the first professional Twenty20 cricket championship in the United States. The inaugural season of Major League Cricket will kick off in the summer of 2023.

MI New York will begin their MLC 2023 campaign on July 13 against Los Angeles Knight Riders and will play 16 fixtures, ending their league campaign against Seattle Orcas on July 25 ahead of the MLC playoffs.