De Kock, Nortje to play in USA’s new Major League Cricket

Two current Proteas players were picked up in the inaugural Major League Cricket draft on Sunday.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock will play for the Seattle Orcas in the inaugural edition of America’s T20 franchise tournament, while the Washington Freedom have signed fast bowler Anrich Nortje.

Former Proteas spinner Dane Piedt will also represent the Freedom, with ex-Proteas bowling all-rounder Rusty Theron snapped up by Team Texas.

The six-team league will be played in a single round-robin format from 13 to 30 July with Grand Prairie, Texas, set to be the main venue for the tournament in the first year.

MLC squads after player drafts:

Los Angeles Knight Riders: Ali Khan, Unmukt Chand, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Corne Dry, Ali Sheikh, Saif Badar, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Bhaskar Yadram.

Seattle Orcas: Quinton de Kock, Mitchell Marsh, Harmeet Singh, Shehan Jayasuriya, Shubham Ranjani, Cameron Gannon, Aaron Jones, Nauman Anwar, Phani Simhadri, Angelo Perera, Matthew Tromp.

MI New York: Steven Taylor, Hammad Azam, Ehsan Adil, Nosthush Henjige, Monank Patel, Sarbjeet Ladda, Shayan Jahangir, Usman Rafiq, Saideep Ganesh.

Team Texas: Rusty Theron, Calvin Savage, Lahiru Milantaha, Milind Kumar, Sami Aslam, Cameron Stevenson, Cody Chetty, Zia Shahzad, Saiteja Mukamalla.

Washington Freedom: Anrich Nortje, Wanindu Hasaranga, Andries Gous, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Saurabh Netravalhar, Saad Ali, Dane Piedt, Sujith Gowda, Justin Dill, Akhilesh Bodugum.

San Francisco Unicorns: Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Tajinder Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Carmi le Roux, Brody Couch, David White, Smit Patel, Sanjay Krishnamurthi.

This story first appeared on sacricketmag.com. It is republished here with permission.