Best playing 11 of MI New York ahead of Major League Cricket 2023
The Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise continue to spread their wings. Their team MI New York (MINY) is now ready to play their first-ever game in the inaugural edition of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 in the United States of America.
MI have already tasted incredible success in the IPL. They also have their stakes in the SA20 League with MI Cape Town and in the ILT20 League with MI Emirates.
MLC 2023 is a massive opportunity for the game of cricket to get more recognition in the USA and on paper, MINY look arguably one of the strongest teams with some incredible overseas names.
Apart from those, MI New York have also been able to rope in some veterans of USA cricket and that could really form an interesting playing combination for them ahead of their first game on July 15. On that note let's take a look at how the strongest possible MI New York XI could look in MLC 2023:
Openers: Steven Taylor and Hammad Azam
With a number of star-studded overseas players set to arrive later in the middle order, MINY might go in with the opening combination of Steven Taylor and Hammad Azam.
Taylor has played ample cricket for the USA and has a reputation for being a big hitter at the top of the order. Hammad has played international cricket for Pakistan in the period between 2011-15 but now will play as a USA local. He has also had some experience batting in the top order and could be an ideal foil to Taylor.
Middle-order: Monank Patel, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Shayan Jahangir & Tim David
USA skipper Monank Patel could slot in at his natural No.3 position. While his T20 numbers aren't that appealing, he could still do a great role as an anchor with some solid performances.
Then comes the powerful overseas trio of Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, and Tim David. When at their best, they can be absolutely devastating and this is certainly the engine room for MI New York that will help them post massive total.
It would be an incredible opportunity for USA all-rounder Shayan Jahangir to be a part of this star-studded middle-order and also help him add a lot to his promising game.
Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Ehsan Adil, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult
Rashid Khan was already a part of MI Cape Town and MI Emirates and he will once again be keen to leave his mark on yet another T20 league, this time with MI New York. The Afghanistan superstar will also have the services of Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult, two absolutely world-class pacers.
Ehsan Adil, another former Pakistan player, is now a USA local and has some impressive numbers with the ball in T20s. He could really be that support pacer that allows Boult and Rabada to have a crack at the opposition with the new ball.