The fourth season of Major League Cricket (MLC) brings the high-octane excitement of world-class T20 cricket to the United States. Running from June 18 to July 18, 2026, the tournament has expanded to a 34-match schedule that promises intense competition over a full month. Six powerhouse franchises, stacked with a mix of local American talent and global cricket superstars, will battle across iconic venues in Texas and California to crown the next champion of the American summer.
The tournament kicks off with a massive opening-night rivalry at Grand Prairie Stadium, where the Texas Super Kings take on the Seattle Orcas. This year’s expanded tournament introduces a comprehensive double round-robin league stage where all six teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. Teams earn two points for a win and one for a draw or abandonment, with Net Run Rate serving as the crucial tiebreaker if teams finish level on points. This grueling 30-match league format is a true test of squad depth, ensuring that only the most consistent and resilient teams earn a spot in the post-season.
Following the league stage, the tournament shifts into a high-stakes, four-match playoff phase utilizing the page playoff system. The top two teams from the table will clash in the Qualifier, with the winner earning a direct ticket to the Championship Final, while the loser receives a second chance. Meanwhile, the third and fourth-placed teams will fight for survival in a do-or-die Eliminator. The winner of that match will face the loser of the Qualifier in the Challenger, deciding who fills the final remaining spot in the grand finale.
MLC 2026: Complete squads of all 6 teams
MI New York (MINY): Kieron Pollard (c), Quinton de Kock (WK), Ryan Rickelton (WK), Nicholas Pooran (WK), Monank Patel (WK), Agni Chopra, Tajinder Dhillon, Trent Boult, Sunny Patel, Nosthush Kenjige, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Tristan Luus, Rushil Ugarkar, Corey Anderson, Corbin Bosch, Romario Shepherd, Faisal Khan Ahmadzai, and Kunwarjeet Singh.
Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR): Sunil Narine, Jason Holder (c), Alex Hales, Unmukt Chand , Saif Badar, Colin Munro, Andre Fletcher (WK), Nitish Kumar, Jahmar Hamilton (WK), Carmi le Roux, Kristopher Ramsaran, Ali Khan, Lloyd Pope, Andre Russell, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Karthik Gattepalli, and Matthew Tromp.
Texas Super Kings (TSK): Faf du Plessis (c), Rilee Rossouw, Calvin Savage, Smit Patel (WK), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Joshua Tromp (WK), Adam Milne, Nandre Burger, Keshav Maharaj, Hardus Viljoen, Akeal Hosein, Mohammad Mohsin, Abhimanyu Lamba, Wiaan Mulder, Milind Kumar, Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Ranjane, and Amshi de Silva.
Washington Freedom (WF): Steve Smith (c), Mark Chapman, Mukhtar Ahmed, Lahiru Milantha (WK), Andries Gous (WK), Lockie Ferguson, Ben Dwarshuis, Amila Aponso, Saurabh Netravalkar, Asif Mehmood, Abhishek Paradkar, Yasir Mohammad, Glenn Maxwell, Rachin Ravindra, Obus Pienaar, Ian Holland, Marco Jansen, Nikhil Chaudhary , Jack Edwards, and Mitchell Owen.
San Francisco Unicorns (SFU): Finn Allen (WK), Zia-ul-Haq, Connor Esterhuizen, Saideep Ganesh (WK), Sanjay Krishnamurthy, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (WK), Ollie Peake, Aakarshit Gomel, Xavier Bartlett, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ilyas, Juanoy Drysdale, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hassan Khan, Hammad Azam, Matthew Short (c), Aaron Hardie, and Anirudh Immanuel.
Seattle Orcas (SO): Shimron Hetmyer, Shehan Jayasuriya, Tim Seifert (WK), Shayan Jahangir, Matthew Breetzke, Sujit Nayak, Sharad Lumba, Rahul Jariwala (WK), Tim Robinson, Cameron Gannon, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, Harmeet Singh, Tanveer Sangha, Jasdeep Singh, Ayan Desai, Dasun Shanaka, Marcus Stoinis (c), and Ali Sheikh.
