Best playing 11 of Washington Freedom ahead of Major League Cricket 2023

Washington Freedom are one of the six franchises in the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC). Owned by Sanjay Govil, Washington Freedom also have a strategic alliance with Cricket New South Wales, courtesy of which there is a significant Sydney Sixers presence in the side.

Sixers head coach Greg Shipperd is in charge of the team, with Sixers captain Moises Henriques set to lead them on the field. Dale Steyn's presence as a bowling coach adds some valuable experience to the side.

Washington Freedom play their first match of the tournament against the Seattle Orcas on Thursday, July 13 (US CDT), and there is plenty of speculation over what their ideal playing XI is. On that note, here is Washington Freedom's best playing XI on paper.

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Openers - Josh Philippe and Andries Gous (WK)

Andries Gous is one of the most exciting domestic players in the league.

Washington Freedom didn't waste any time snapping up the attacking keeper-batter Andries Gous at the draft and he's set to open the batting for them along with Sydney Sixers' Josh Philippe.

The ex-Proteas domestic cricketer Gous comes off a terrific 2022 Minor League campaign, where he finished as the third-highest run-scorer. He's also set to take the gloves over Philippe, whose T20 credentials speak for themselves. While he has yet to establish himself as a regular for the national side, he's a devastating T20 batter across leagues.

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Middle Order - Mukhtar Ahmed, Glenn Phillips and Sujith Gowda

Glenn Phillips is one of the best fielders in world cricket right now. (Image Courtesy: espncricinfo.com)

Washington Freedom look to have built a powerful core of batters, with Glenn Phillips at the heart of it all. He has showcased his destructive abilities with the bat on many an occasion for New Zealand and the No. 4 spot should bring the best out of him.

The hard-hitting Mukhtar Ahmed should slot in at No. 3 and he'll hope to have a similar impact as he does when he bats in his most preferred role as an opener. His numbers in domestic cricket are very impressive and he could well be one of the breakout stars.

Sujith Gowda, who hails from Karnataka, is expected to bat at No. 5 after a couple of consistently strong outings in Minor League Cricket.

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All-Rounders - Moises Henriques (C), Marco Jansen and Obus Pienaar

Marco Jansen is a very handy batting option lower down the order.

The Sydney Sixers' core of this team is best embodied by the Sixers captain Moises Henriques' presence. Henriques will lead Washington Freedom in MLC 2023, and he'll look to provide the team with a solid batting presence in the middle over and provide some more than handy overs with the ball.

Ex-South African domestic cricketer Obus Pienaar is a great utility option with his batting and is a reliable left-arm spinner who's capable of keeping things tight at one end.

The lanky left-arm seamer Marco Jansen is a menace in the powerplay and can make the new ball talk, in addition to extracting extra bounce from the surface. He's also a very handy batter in the lower order capable of some serious power-hitting.

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Bowlers - Tanveer Sangha, Anrich Nortje and Saurabh Netravalkar

Dale Steyn will be mighty pleased with the fast bowling unit the side has managed to put together this season. Proteas speedster Anrich Nortje should lead the bowling attack, and his fiery pace should make every ball an exciting event, and him bowling in tandem with Marco Jansen should make life difficult for the batters.

The duo should be ably supported by USA's most dependable bowler Saurabh Netravalkar. The tall left-arm seamer has been the national side's strike bowler for quite a while now, and it's to the management's credit they managed to draft him into the side.

Wanindu Hasaranga was the team's marquee signing and most important player, but with him missing out due to workload issues, his replacement, young Australian leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, should feature in the playing XI. The 21-year-old has made a great name for himself with his quality performances for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.

However, they could also go with the more experienced Akeal Hosein as the overseas spin-bowling option, with Ben Dwarshuis and Adam Milne available in case they opt to play an extra pacer instead.