3 reasons why MI New York are favourites to win the inaugural Major League Cricket season
Major League Cricket (MLC) is the latest franchise league tournament to capture the imagination of cricket fans. It features teams like MI New York and Los Angeles Knight Riders. and is being seen as an initiative to bring people from the USA into the world of cricket.
The tournament will begin on June 13 and conclude on June 30, when the final will be played at Grand Prairie Stadium in North Texas. The six teams in the tournament will compete in a round-robin-style group stage before the top four proceed to the knockout stages.
One team is looking far superior compared to its rivals in terms of squad construction: MI New York, as they have managed to assemble one of the strongest sides of the tournament on paper.
MI New York is the latest addition to the cricket franchise owned by the Mumbai Indians brand, along with MI Cape Town and MI Emirates.
In this article, we will discuss the reasons that make the MI New York side formidable and the strongest contender for the title.
3 reasons why MI New York are favourites to win the inaugural MLC season
#3 A strong bowling line-up
As the cliche goes, "Batsmen win you matches, but bowlers win you tournaments". A strong T20 bowling line-up has been the first priority of teams in recent times.
How do you structure a T20 bowling line-up? A swing bowler who can move the new cherry, a middle over enforcer, a quality spinner, and quality death-over bowlers are the least a team looks out for while constructing a strong side.
Add to this the left arm angle, and you've got your bases covered.
And MI New York checks all the boxes with their having left-arm fast bowlers in Jason Behrendorff and Trent Boult who can utilize the new ball to the fullest.
They also have Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan, who, in all likelihood, will handle the middle and death duties, alongside domestic talents.
#2 Finishers and all-rounders
A team with a strong batting line-up will most of the time falter at the finish line if they don't have quality finishers in their arsenal.
Successful T20 teams have always been blessed with ferocious finishers and utility players down the order who score some quickfire runs when required.
MI New York possesses some of the best names in this category, with the likes of Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Nicholas Pooran, Dewald Brevis, Rashid Khan and David Wiese.
They have entrusted the same core of finishers who have represented them in various leagues and done exceedingly well in the role.
#1 Been there, done that
MI New York has acquired the services of players who have been part of many T20 franchise cricket tournaments and know how to win those big moments while holding their nerves.
The experienced core of Rashid, Pollard, Pooran and Boult have together won more than 20 T20 tournaments till now and have the big-match temperament required to win crunch games.