5 IPL 2025 stars to watch out for in MLC 2025 ft. Trent Boult

Major League Cricket 2025 gets underway on Thursday, June 12, with San Francisco Unicorns taking on Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum in California. Several top players who plied their trade in the recently concluded Indian Premier League will also turn up for different franchises in the MLC.

These players, with a lot of T20 cricket experience under their belt, will aim to contribute with bat and ball, and take their respective teams into the playoffs. Several of these stars come into the MLC on the back of a good run of form in IPL 2025, and this will contribute to their momentum in the USA as well.

In this listicle, we take a look at five IPL 2025 stars who are playing in the MLC too:

#5 Sunil Narine (LA Knight Riders)

Sunil Narine is one of the biggest players to turn out in the MLC as well as the IPL. In the 2025 edition of the latter, Narine was in fine form for the Kolkata Knight Riders, performing his dual role of batter and spinner with equal ease. With the bat in hand, Narine contributed 246 runs at an enviable strike rate of 170.

With the ball, Narine picked up 12 wickets with his off-breaks in as many matches this season, making him one of the few players to have scored 200-plus runs and taken 10-plus wickets in an IPL season. In the MLC, he will lead the LA Knight Riders. They finished fifth last season and will be aiming to better it this time around.

#4 Faf du Plessis (Texas Super Kings)

Faf du Plessis, who moved on from Royal Challengers Bengaluru to Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025, does not seem to be ageing at all. Just a few days shy of his 41st birthday, the former South Africa captain will skipper the Texas Super Kings in the MLC this campaign. He was in excellent form for them last season, scoring 520 runs at an average of 52.50.

Although Du Plessis did not have the best of runs with the bat in hand for DC in IPL 2025, TSK know how important he is for them at the top of the order. Having finished in the third position of the league standings last season, TSK will hope to secure the MLC title this time around under the South African's able leadership.

#3 Heinrich Klaasen (Seattle Orcas)

Former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen, who called it quits from international cricket earlier this month, will lead the Seattle Orcas in MLC 2025. In IPL 2025, he was a vital member of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who finished sixth. Klaasen scored 487 runs in 13 innings for SRH this season.

Asked to be the middle-order enforcer for the Chennai-owned franchise, the ex-Proteas star did not disappoint and ended the season with an unbeaten 105 against Kolkata Knight Riders. In the MLC, however, he had a forgettable time last season, amassing just 97 runs in seven matches at an average of 16 for Seattle.

#2 Trent Boult (MI New York)

New Zealand seamer Trent Boult will turn out for MI New York in MLC 2025, just as he did for the parent franchise, Mumbai Indians, in IPL 2025. Boult was one of the leading wicket-takers of the Indian tournament this season, finishing joint-third in the list with 22 scalps. He will be a prime new ball strike option for MI New York.

Boult has played for MI New York in both seasons of the MLC so far, and mightily impressed in the inaugural edition in 2023, when he picked up 22 wickets. However, he had an ordinary run in 2024, returning with just nine wickets. The left-arm seamer, who has turned down a central contract with the Kiwis, will hope to continue his form from the IPL and take MI New York into the playoffs.

#1 Nicholas Pooran (MI New York)

Nicholas Pooran is among the biggest IPL 2025 stars to feature in the MLC this season. The ex-West Indies star, who hung up his boots from international cricket earlier this week, will captain MI New York, a part of the Mumbai Indians' parent franchise. Pooran played for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025 and scored 524 runs.

The Trinidad wicketkeeper-batter's exploits in IPL 2025 made him one of the most highly sought-after players, especially as he scored his runs at an impressive strike rate of 196. Pooran will be critical to MI New York's chances in MLC 2025, as they endured the heartbreak of finishing fourth last season.