MLC 2025: Predicting Seattle Orcas XI vs WF

Seattle Orcas will begin their major league cricket 2025 season with the game against Washington Freedom on Saturday night. Seattle began the Major League cricket finishing first in the table in the 2023 season before going on to reach the final, where they lost to Mumbai Indians, New York and then finished 6^th in the second season, which was held in 2024.

This year, Seattle has become a stronger unit with the additions of names like David Warner, Shimron Hetmyer, as well as USA batter Steven Taylor, Afghanistan player Gulbadin Naib and West Indian Kyle Meyers. Zimbabwean skipper Sikander Raza, along with Fazalhaq Farooqi, Obed McCoy, Waqar Salamkheil and Jasdeep Singh, are some of the other new signings for the side.

Here are the Seattle Orcas

Top order – David Warner, Steven Taylor

Seattle will be opening their batting with former Australian batting great David Warner, who is a very well-known player in T20 cricket. The former Australian star has been at the top of his game in the shortest format over the last few years. David Warner, we’ll be looking to hit the ground running and give Seattle a great start with the bat. Steven Taylor is one of the most experienced players for the United States cricket team and can play attacking cricket. The veteran batter is also an able scorer with the talent to put pressure on any team early in the innings.

Middle Order – Aaron Jones, Gulbadin Naib, Heinrich Klaasen

Aaron Jones grabbed the headlines with his amazing batting during the World T20 tournament that was held in the USA and the West Indies last year. The Barbados-born batter is one of the few United States batters who has been able to capture the imagination of cricketing fans worldwide. Jones will play a key role for Seattle, considering the experience he has of playing in these conditions. Afghanistan star Gulbadin Naib will be key with the bat in the middle order as well as with the ball during the middle phase of the innings, as he can bowl at good speeds and also change the pace of the ball when needed. Heinrich Klaasen, who retired from international cricket just a few days ago, will be seeking to help Seattle do well this season and repeat the exploits of the first campaign, where they’ve reached the finals. Klaasen is coming off a mixed bag season for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2025 season, where he scored a century in the final league phase game against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Lower-order- Sikandar Raza, Shayan Jahangir, Harmeet Singh

Zimbabwean T20 skipper Sikander Raza is one of the most experienced players in this format of the game. Raza is a very dangerous lower-order batter as well as a very deceptive spin bowler. The veteran all-rounder can change the course of the game with the bat and ball and will be a key player for Seattle in the Major League Cricket 2025 season. Jahangir and Singh have been playing majorly cricket for the last few seasons and will be keen to do well for Seattle, especially with the 2026 T20 World Cup set to be held early next year, where they can push for selection in the major tournament.

Tail enders – Jasdeep Singh, Obed McCoy, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Veteran medium pays polar Jasdeep Singh, is an able operator with the new ball as well as in the back end of the innings. Jasdeep can bowl with decent pace and is more than handy in the death overs with a slower ball and effective yorker-length deliveries. McCoy is a very good T20 bowler with the ability to change his space and leave the batters flummoxed. Afghanistan pacer Farooqi was one of the best performers in the previous T20 World Cup as he made many batters fall to his swing bowling with the new ball. Farooqi will be the key player for Seattle in their game against Washington, with the ball expected to do a lot under the lights.

Seattle XI vs Washington

David Warner, Steven Taylor, Aaron Jones, Gulbadin Naib, Heinrich Klaasen, Sikandar Raza, Shayan Jahangir, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Obed McCoy, Fazalhaq Farooqi.