MLC 2025: Pooran and Maxwell to lead MI New York and Washington Freedom respectively
Corey Anderson (San Francisco Unicorns), Heinrich Klaasen (Seattle Orcas) and Faf du Plessis (Texas Super Kings) will continue to lead their teams
ESPNcricinfo staff
11-Jun-2025 • Updated 2 hrs ago
Nicholas Pooran has been one of MI New York's stars in the two seasons of MLC • Sportzpics
Nicholas Pooran, who retired from all formats of international cricket on Tuesday, has been named captain of MI New York for the upcoming season of Major League Cricket (MLC). He replaces Kieron Pollard in the position.
He has been with MI New York since being drafted ahead of the inaugural season in 2023, and had a huge role in the team winning the title, scoring 137* in 55 balls in the final, against Seattle Orcas, and finished as the highest run-getter of the season (388), 124 runs ahead of the second-placed Quinton de Kock of Orcas.
Pooran has a long association with the MI franchise. He was bought by MI ahead of the 2017 IPL, but didn't get a game, and was released ahead of the next season, following which he has played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Sunrisers Hyderabad and now Lucknow Super Giants. While that wasn't happy for the player, he has been with their team in the ILT20 in the UAE, MI Emirates.
Pooran is not the only new captain at the six-team MLC. Glenn Maxwell, who retired from ODI cricket recently to focus on T20s in the lead-up to the World Cup next year, has been named the captain of Washington Freedom. Maxwell has replaced Steven Smith as captain at Freedom.
Corey Anderson, who played most of his top-flight cricket for New Zealand before shifting allegiance to USA, will continue to lead San Francisco Unicorns - making him the only "local" captain of a team at MLC, while Heinrich Klaasen has also been confirmed to continue as the captain at Orcas.
The other two teams in the fray are Los Angeles Knight Riders and Texas Super Kings. Jason Holder replaces Sunil Narine as LAKR captain - though Narine will deputise while Holder is on international duty - and Faf du Plessis will stay on as TSK captain.
Freedom are the defending MLC champions, having beaten Unicorns in the final last season. The new season will kick off on June 13 with a match pitting Freedom and Unicorns in Oakland. The final is scheduled for July 12.