Aaron Finch and Quinton de Kock among marquee signings set for Major League Cricket

The local player draft for the inaugural edition of MLC took place on Sunday, with six big overseas names also revealed

Nick Friend | 20/03/2023 at 10:34

Aaron Finch and Quinton de Kock were among six marquee overseas names revealed at the inaugural Major League Cricket draft.

The draft, which took place in Houston, was for the franchises – four of which are at least partially owned by Indian Premier League teams – to build the local elements of their squads, picking nine players each as 54 "resident players" were selected, with ex-England bowler Liam Plunkett among them.

Former Australia white-ball captain Finch has been signed by San Francisco Unicorns, who also snapped up Plunkett and former New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson, both of whom are now based in the United States, as well as overseas addition Marcus Stoinis and his Melbourne Stars teammate Brody Couch, who is a US citizen thanks to his mother's birthplace.

De Kock, meanwhile, has been picked up by Seattle Orcas, who also announced that big-hitting Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh is set to join as an overseas player. Marsh will be joined by – among others – Cameron Gannon, the fast bowler contracted to Western Australia but a dual citizen who played four T20Is for USA in 2019. Ex-Sri Lanka internationals Shehan Jayasuriya and Angelo Perera are also part of Orcas' roster as residents.

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^{Liam Plunkett was a World Cup winner with England in 2019 (Jack Thomas/Getty Images)}

Wanindu Hasaranga has also been announced as an overseas player by Washington Freedom, adding to the Sri Lankan flavour; ominously for batters, they have also confirmed the signing of South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje.

MI New York, the latest offshoot of the Mumbai Indians franchise, picked up former USA captain Steven Taylor, who was the first US-born player to be drafted. He is one of six current or recent USA internationals in New York's squad; they are yet to name an overseas signing, with franchises completing those deals outside of the draft.

Los Angeles Knight Riders, another of the IPL-backed teams, picked up Ali Khan – who has previously represented Knight Riders offshoots at Kolkata, Trinbago and Abu Dhabi – and Canada batter Nitish Kumar. Unmukt Chand, the former India Under-19 captain, was also picked up by LA in the draft.