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The inaugural season of the Major League Cricket is set to go on floors on Thursday, July 13, with the Texas Super Kings facing the Los Angeles Knight Riders at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
Besides these two sides, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, and Washington Freedom comprise the six-team event.
A total of 15 matches will be played in the round-robin format before a four-game playoff phase - similar to that of the IPL - will bring the curtains down on the tournament. Barring Dallas, Church Street Park in Morrisville will also host the tournament.
The Super Kings - who are the sister franchise of five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) - boast a well-rounded outfit that seems to have what it takes to go the distance.
Under the able leadership of Faf du Plessis and head coach Stephen Fleming, the Super Kings will certainly fancy their chances at the coveted prize, having also combined to take the Joburg Super Kings to the semi-finals of the SA20 earlier in the year.
On that note, let's look at what could be the best playing XI for Texas Super Kings ahead of Major League Cricket 2023.
Openers - Faf du Plessis (c) and Devon Conway (wk)
It's as though the multiverse is coming to reality. We've seen Ruturaj Gaikwad form a successful combination with both du Plessis and Devon Conway at CSK. And now, it's time to witness the latter two combine at the top of the order for Texas Super Kings.
What makes this combination so good is that it pretty much takes care of every matchup that could be thrown at them, be it pace or spin. Both have also been in red-hot form this year and will look to continue the same up top for Texas.
Du Plessis is the side's captain while Conway might just be tasked with keeping wickets.
Middle order - Saiteja Mukkamalla, Milind Kumar, and David Miller
Saiteja Muikkamalla might have had a tough time in the World Cup Qualifiers for the USA, but he remains one of the brightest young batting talents in the country. He will form the bridge between an experienced top order and some fearsome power-hitters later in the order for the Texas Super Kings.
Milind Kumar, meanwhile, carries plenty of experience with him, having represented Delhi, Sikkim, and Tripura in domestic cricket in India. He has taken to cricket in the USA like a duck to water though, piling up a truckload of runs in the Minor League Cricket tournament while also bagging plenty of wickets with his off-spin.
At No. 5 is David Miller, who has often been a thorn in the flesh of CSK but will don yellow for a change in the Major League Cricket tournament. His prowess as a finisher needs no reiteration and he's bound to add value aplenty on that front to the side, having piled up 9627 T20 runs at a strike rate of 139.25.
All-rounders - Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, and Zia Shahzad
Mitchell Santner continues his association with the Super Kings and will turn up for Texas this season. While he was unfortunate to not get enough game time in the IPL, he should lead the spin attack for the Super Kings while also looking to carry forward his rich batting form for Worcestershire at the T20 Blast over here.
Good old Dwayne Bravo is back and the all-time leading wicket-taker in T20 with 615 scalps to his name will be tasked with leading the bowling attack while also sending down his assortment of slower deliveries and yorkers at the death. This, of course, will go with some lusty hits against pace in the death overs.
Zia Shahzad, on the other hand, offers the Super Kings a wrist-spinning option through the middle overs. Having picked up wickets for fun in the Minor League Cricket tournament, he will look to do the same while also making his presence felt with the bat, even if he has played just a spoonful of List-A and first-class games to date.
Bowlers - Gerald Coetzee, Calvin Savage, and Rusty Theron
Gerald Coetzee was Joburg Super Kings' leading wicket-taker at the SA20 earlier this year, snaring 17 wickets while cranking up some serious pace. His stock has risen considerably and he has gone on to make his Test debut as well and will be expected to replicate his SA20 heroics in yellow yet again.
It's an all-South African affair as far as Texas Super Kings' frontline pace attack is concerned. Of course, Rusty Theron and Calvin Savage are local players for the Major League Cricket season but what they do bring with them is something enriched in the Super Kings' DNA - experience.
Theron is known to bowl the death overs while possessing a potent yorker and alongside Bravo, forms one of the better death-bowling combinations for the season.
Savage, on the other hand, could just live up to his surname by burning the speed gun. He has played 69 first-class matches, 52 List-A games, and 19 T20s in his career and also has a couple of hundreds to his name in first-class cricket, proving himself to be very useful with the bat as well.
Best Texas Super Kings XI for Major League Cricket 2023: Faf du Plessis (c), Devon Conway (wk), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Milind Kumar, David Miller, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Zia Shahzad, Gerald Coetzee, Calvin Savage, Rusty Theron.
Do the Texas Super Kings have the makings of a championship-winning side for the inaugural season of Major League Cricket? Have your say in the comments section below!
Also read: 3 current West Indies players who have played a Test with both Shivnarine and Tagenarine Chanderpaul
