| Texas Super Kings | |
| League: | Major League Cricket |
| Captain: | Faf du Plessis |
| Coach: | Stephen Fleming |
| Colours: | Yellow |
| Manager: | Russell Radhakrishnan |
| Owner: |
|
| Ground: | Grand Prairie Stadium |
| Capacity: | 7,200 (expandable to 15,000) |
| Website: | http://www.texassuperkings.com |
| T Pattern La: | _goldborder |
| T Pattern B: | _tsk23 |
| T Pattern Ra: | _goldborder |
| T Leftarm: | ffff00ff |
| T Body: | FFF100 |
| T Rightarm: | ffff00ff |
| T Pants: | ffff00ff |
| T Title: | T20 kit |
The Texas Super Kings are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC).[4] The team is based in Grand Prairie, Texas and was announced in 2023 as one of six inaugural teams to play in Major League Cricket.[5] The team has two minor league affiliates – the Dallas Mustangs and the Dallas Xforia Giants, which both compete in Minor League Cricket alongside 24 other teams.[6] The franchise is co-owned by the Chennai Super Kings Cricket, Ross Perot Jr., and Anurag Jain.[7]
The team's home ground is Grand Prairie Stadium, located in Grand Prairie, Texas.[8] The stadium has a capacity of 7,200 – but it can be expanded to seat 15,000 for major events.[9] The team is coached by Stephen Fleming, who also serves as head coach for the Chennai Super Kings and the Joburg Super Kings,[10] and is captained by former South African skipper Faf du Plessis.[11]
In November 2020, USA Cricket announced that ACE had acquired a 15-year lease for a former Minor League Baseball stadium to be renovated into a fully-fledged cricket stadium, which would host the Dallas franchise Major League Cricket team.[12] [13] Plans were reaffirmed two years later in December 2022, where MLC officially announced its 2023 season and the name of the Texas franchise home ground, Grand Prairie Stadium.[14]
In May 2022, it was formally announced during a Series A and A1 fundraising round for Major League Cricket that Anurag Jain and Ross Perot Jr. – who were among many big-name investors such as Satya Nadella and Sanjay Parthasarathy – would co-own the Texas franchise cricket team.[15] [16]
In the buildup to the 2023 draft – which was held on March 19, the Texas franchise announced its partnership with the Chennai Super Kings.[17] Following the draft, the team held a press conference wherein co-owner Anurag Jain, amongst Stephen Fleming and K.S. Viswanathan,[18] publicly announced their team name – the Texas Super Kings, logo and coach for the first time.[19] However, it was announced in late April that they had revamped their logo for it to look similar to the logos of the Chennai and Joburg Super Kings.[20]
Prior to the launch of the official season, it was announced the MLC's inaugural domestic draft would take place on March 19, 2023.[21] The Super Kings had the final pick of the first round draft and selected Rusty Theron,[22] before adding Sami Aslam, Calvin Savage, and Milind Kumar with later selections.[23] In June 2023, the Super Kings announced seven of their nine overseas signings, including Ambati Rayudu, Devon Conway, and Dwayne Bravo. In addition, they announced their full support staff lineup, including Albie Morkel and Eric Simons, among others.[24] They subsequently announced that former South African skipper, Faf du Plessis, would captain the side and on July 5, selected Mohammad Mohsin as their Domestic Wildcard Pick.[25]
Rayudu withdrew from the tournament following the Board of Control of Cricket in India's proposal of a year-long "cooling-off period" for recently retired players[26] and his place taken by Imran Tahir.[27]
In the opening match of the tournament on July 13, the Super Kings recorded a 69-run win over the Los Angeles Knight Riders.[28] [29] This was followed by a 6-run defeat to the Washington Freedom in their second match,[30] [31] a 17-run victory over MI New York[32] and an 8-wicket defeat to the Seattle Orcas.[33] [34]
A three-wicket win over the San Francisco Unicorns ensured a top-two finish going into the playoffs,[35] but losses to both Seattle and New York saw the team eliminated.[36] [37]
Ahead of the start of the 2024 season on July 5,[38] [39] on February 15, 2024, the Super Kings released a list of retentions for overseas players, including captain Faf du Plessis, Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner.[40] [41] During the domestic players' draft, the Texas Super Kings selected Joshua Tromp and Raj Nannan.[42] [43] Outside of the draft, the team announced a series of overseas signings from New Zealander Daryl Mitchell to Australian Marcus Stoinis.[44] [45] Mitchell however, following an injury, was ruled out of the season and was replaced by Afghan cricketer Noor Ahmad.[46]
Winning 3, drawing (match suspended due to rain) 2 out of the possible 7 games ensured that the Super Kings reached the playoffs for the second time in a row.
| Position | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | Faf du Plessis | 13 July 1984 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg-break | 2023 | Direct signing, captain | |
| Milind Kumar | 15 February 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2023 | |||
| Saiteja Mukkamalla | 9 April 2004 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2023 | U23 player | ||
| All-rounders | Calvin Savage | 4 January 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2023 | ||
| Zia Shahzad | 18 June 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm legbreak | 2023 | |||
| Dwayne Bravo | 7 October 1983 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2023 | Direct signing | ||
| Mitchell Santner | 5 February 1992 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2023 | Direct signing | ||
| Marcus Stoinis | 16 August 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2024 | Direct signing | ||
| Aiden Markram | 4 October 1994 | Right-handed | Right arm off-break | 2024 | Direct signing | ||
| Aaron Hardie | 7 January 1999 | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | 2024 | Direct signing | ||
| Cameron Stevenson | 30 October 1992 | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | 2023 | |||
| Raj Nannan | 14 September 1994 | Left-handed | Slow Left arm Orthodox | 2024 | |||
| Daryl Mitchell | 20 May 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2024 | Ruled out due to injury | ||
| Wicket-keepers | Devon Conway | 8 July 1991 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | 2023 | Direct signing | |
| Joshua Tromp | 1 April 2001 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | 2024 | Drafted | ||
| Bowlers | Mohammad Mohsin | 15 April 1996 | Left-handed | Left-arm leg break googly | 2023 | Domestic Wildcard Pick | |
| Zia-ul-Haq | 11 December 1994 | Right-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | 2023 | |||
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 23 September 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2024 | Direct Signing | ||
| Noor Ahmad | 3 January 2005 | Right-handed | Left-arm unorthodox | 2024 | Direct Signing | ||
| Ottniel Baartman | 18 March 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2024 | Injury replacement | ||
| Name | ||
| Head coach | Stephen Fleming | |
| Assistant coach | Eric Simons | |
| Assistant coach | Albie Morkel | |
| Team manager | Russell Radhakrishnan | |
| Strength and conditioning | Greg King | |
| High performance analyst | Lakshmi Narayanan | |
| Physiotherapist | Tommy Simsek |
| Year | League standing | Final standing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Second | Challenger | |
| 2024 | Third | Challenger |
| Year | Played | Wins | Losses | Tied/NR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Source: ESPNCricinfo[47] | |||||