Minor League Cricket returns for its third season this summer, with the domestic player draft set to take place on Wednesday, June 7. Fans can follow the draft via the MLC Twitter account and a live show on the MLC Network on YouTube, starting at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The draft will allow teams to select some of the strongest talent in American cricket, with Minor League Cricket structured to ensure that teams are constructed mainly for domestic player development purposes.
“The third season of Minor League Cricket promises to bring more great action for American cricket fans this summer,” said Zubin Surkari, Tournament Director, Minor League Cricket. “We are grateful to our title partner Sunoco for their ongoing support fuelling the competition. This season, Minor League Cricket is delighted to welcome onboard Laxmi, the leading South Asian food brand, as a partner to help us continue to build MiLC as America’s most extensive cricket competition.”
The team roster structure is as follows:
Team rosters will feature a minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 18 players.
Domestic Players are drawn from local catchment areas for each team, with the draft divided into regional zones for selection.
Teams are required to include multiple developing young players on their rosters – at least two U21 players and one U19 player. Each playing eleven must include at least two U21 players.
Teams can retain up to three players from the 2022 season, meaning those players are not eligible for selection in the draft.
Rosters can also include professional players who bring top class international experience to each squad, increasing the level of performance in training and matches to help develop domestic talent. These players are primarily selected in the “Priority Domestic Player” and “Wildcard Player” categories outside of the draft.
| S.no | Player Category | Quantity |
| 1 | U19 Player | 1 |
| For the 2023 season, players born after August 31, 2003. | ||
| 2 | U21 Player | 2 |
| For the 2023 season, players born after August 31, 2001. | ||
| 3 | Domestic Player | 8 |
| Players from each team’s regional zone selected during the draft or retained from the 2022 roster. | ||
| 4 | Priority Domestic Player | 3 |
| Players selected prior to the draft by their designated team. | ||
| 5 | Wildcard Players | 2 |
| Any player from anywhere approved for selection. At least one wildcard must be a domestic player. | ||
| 6 | Optional | 2 |
| Free Agent Player | ||
| Domestic players available for selection following the Player Draft. | ||
| 7 | 2023 Retention | Upto 3 |
| Retained Player | ||
| Each team may retain up to three players from its 2022 roster, as long as that player remains located in that team’s respective draft zone. |
- The draft is divided into regional zones with a randomly generated draft order for the teams in each region.
- The draft will follow a “snake” format (for each round of the Player Draft after the first round, the selection order of the immediately preceding round will be reversed).
- Teams will have two minutes to make their selections.
- The draft continues until each team meets the minimum roster composition requirements above.
