One Roster Need for Every MLC Team This Offseason

With about a month between now and the end of MLC 2025, I’m already thinking about 2026. I’m not alone in that: this year felt like a year where the niche deepened more than it widened, with the people who are locked into MLC very locked in. We already miss it, and what better way to keep ourselves occupied than to fire up the off-season discourse? This is how the NFL created its enormous media reach and became THE sports entity in North America. I’m always down to be the change I want to see in the world, so after the jump, one major roster need for each MLC team heading into 2026, listed by order of finish.

As tempting as it was to say “literally any bowlers” after they gave up an MLC-high 15 half-centuries this season, the champions found a way to stitch together a good, diverse attack with Trent Boult, Nosh Kenjige, and youngsters Rushil Ugarkar and Tristan Luus. But after Agni Chopra failed to launch, the Razors had to adapt and move Monank Patel into the opening pair. It worked - Monank won the non-existent MLC Orange Cap this season - but it left a hole behind him that had to be patched over by committee. Throw in the fact that Kieron Pollard is 38, and the main priority becomes clear: if Monank works at the top, MINY needs to pursue someone to maintain the depth of the order.

The Freedom need Steve Smith back. Period. Smith is someone who would crawl over glass to win a game of cricket (and some other things we are not going to talk about today) and just looks deeply uncomfortable doing anything other than smacking the ever-loving snot out of a cricket ball. Glenn Maxwell lacked that same edge, plus he had a knack for calling his own number to bowl at the worst possible times, including [checks notes] his entire spell in the grand final. He’s still a perfectly fine all-rounder, but I can’t help but wonder if we’re talking about back-to-back titles for the Freedom if Smudge is involved. Washington 2026: Revenge of the Smudge? I’ll workshop it.

TSK didn’t have a go-to bowler from the domestic ranks, which left them with options ranging from decent (Zia-ul-Haq, until that weird missed half-chance in the playoffs) to expensive (Mohammad Mohsin) to virtually unused (Steven Wiig). If they plan to keep their spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad together, the Super Kings should be scouring Minor League Cricket this fall (and even the USPL in the winter) for the best fast bowler they can find and be confident enough to spend an early draft pick on him next spring. Zia-ul-Haq could and likely will bounce back, but he needs to earn it, and TSK needs the roster flexibility more domestic fast bowlers can provide.

The Unicorns were playing with fire all season. If they ever needed spin to win them a game, they would be in trouble, and Hassan Khan got blasted into orbit at the most crucial juncture of their 2025 campaign by Trent Boult. Hassan is a good player - likely a future US national team piece - but he’s not the lights-out guy that can answer the Akeal Hoseins and Rashid Khans of the world. They need a lockdown spinner who can maybe bowl an over or two in the power play, if only so an occasional bone-dry Grand Prairie wicket can’t derail their season (again). Could they have an answer in-house in Karima Gore, who also showed last night he can be handy with the bat? Maybe. Do they trust him enough to try it? Great question.

This may feel unfair to Shayan Jahangir, but it’s more about getting the guy some help. In the seven times the Orcas’ top two batters combined for 30+ runs, Jahangir played in six of those games, was part of five of those combinations, and contributed 188 of the 253 runs scored in those five games. But Kyle Mayers didn’t work as an opener and David Warner got benched, leaving Seattle so desperate for a partner to Jahangir that they put Steven Taylor out there for two of the last three games - he scored one run on 16 balls. The Orcas need a hoss who can smack the ball around in the second spot and more effectively capitalize on the power play so Shimron Hetmyer can go full bore in the latter overs with a good platform under him.

It does not matter whether it’s a batter or a bowler or something in between, LAKR has to go find someone on the open market who can be a difference maker for them for a long time. A true prime star would be a great indicator that the team is sick of losing; failing that, go young and domestic. Draft a premier U19 player - Utkarsh Srivastava, Amrinder Gill, or Shiv Shani, just as examples - and give that guy a long runway. Move Matthew Tromp up the order and see if TSK will fork over his brother, who I kinda thought was the better player of the two anyway. At worst, the Knight Riders will be picked last and meet expectations, but at least they will finally be the one thing a Los Angeles team has to be: entertaining.

Thanks for reading Stumps & Stripes. I’m ready to have some fun on Tuesday, and you’re gonna have fun with me: the 2025 MLC Flag Rankings drop early next week. Stay tuned!