MLC 2023: Texas Super Kings SWOT Analysis
Cricket, the beautiful game, is slowly and steadily becoming a global sport. In this modern-day cricket where every country has its own franchise league, how can we expect the United States to stay away from it?
The USA Cricket sanctioned a professional T20 League which will be owned by the American Cricket Enterprises. The league is called the Major League Cricket and the inaugural season kicks off on July 13.
A total of six teams, representing major US cities will compete for the title, with the competition spanning less than three weeks. The final will be played on July 30 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. The opening game of the league will see the Texas Super Kings lock horns against the Los Angeles Knight Riders on July 13.
The Texas Super Kings have been owned by the Chennai Super Kings and have appointed Stephen Fleming as their head coach. Faf du Plessis has been named as their captain and will be leading the Super Kings in the MLC 2023. They will play all their home games at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
Ahead of Texas Super Kings’ opening fixture, let’s have a look at the squad and their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Texas Super Kings Squad for MLC 2023
Faf du Plessis (c), Saiteja Mukkamalla, David Miller, Milind Kumar, Sami Aslam, Cody Chetty, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Daniel Sams, Calvin Savage, Devon Conway, Lahiru Milantha, Cameron Stevenson, Rusty Theron, Gerald Coetzee, Zia Shahzad
Strengths
The batting unit of the Texas Super Kings looks solid on paper. Led by Faf du Plessis, he is expected to open alongside Devon Conway and they can form a formidable opening pair in the competition.
The likes of David Miller, Milind Kumar and Saiteja Mukkamalla provide enough firepower and can certainly score big once they get going.
du Plessis is one of the most successful leaders of South Africa in the history of the game. He has plenty of experience of leading a side and it will prove to be the biggest strength of the Super Kings in MLC 2023. du Plessis’ ability to get the best out of his teammates makes him a leader to watch.
Weaknesses
The Super Kings failed to snatch up a spinner in the auctions. They bought Mitchell Santner but the New Zealand spinner hasn’t had much game time in recent times and it will be interesting to see how he goes about his business in the competition. The lack of a quality spinner may hurt them in the long run.
Opportunities
The MLC will provide a great platform for players from the United States to showcase their skills. Saiteja Mukkamalla has represented USA in 17 ODIs and has impressed everyone with his strokeplay.
He has one hundred and a fifty to his name and he will look to step up for the Texas Kings in the inaugural edition of MLC.
Threats
The only threat for the Texas Super Kings ahead of Major League Cricket 2023 is their spin department. Mitchell Santner along with inexperienced Zia Shahzad will have to shoulder responsibility.
The opposition teams can take on the spinners and put the Texas Super Kings under pressure in the middle overs.
Texas Super Kings Probable XI for MLC 2023
Faf du Plessis (c), Devon Conway, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Cody Chetty, Milind Kumar, David Miller, Sami Aslam, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Rusty Theron, Cameron Stevenson.