It was a landmark day for cricket in the United States as teams assembled an enticing blend of international stars and promising local talent during the draft for the inaugural Super60 USA Tournament on Friday. The event turned heads with marquee players such as Martin Guptill, Harbhajan Singh, Varun Aaron, and Lendl Simmons grabbing the spotlight.
Teams had already secured eight players each through pre-signings and entered the draft looking to bolster their squads by adding seven to ten more cricketers.
The LA Strikers, who had earlier snapped up heavyweights like Aaron Finch, Isuru Udana, and Ben Dunk, used the draft to further shore up their lineup. They picked up versatile all-rounder Gurkeerat Mann, whose handy off-spin and brisk scoring rate add balance to the side. Seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Naman Ojha and reliable medium-pacer Parvinder Awana were also brought in, underlining the franchise’s focus on building depth across departments.
Morrisville Fighters crafted a formidable core, having already roped in India’s celebrated bowlers Harbhajan and Munaf Patel. They added teeth to their batting by securing Shaun Marsh and reinforced the squad with all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell, and experienced campaigner Faiz Fazal.
Rebel Warriors made waves at the draft by signing Martin Guptill and Lendl Simmons in quick succession, ensuring a blistering top order. With Saurabh Tiwary, who was part of their pre-signings, adding more muscle to the batting and Mitchell Johnson spearheading the attack, the Rebels have a potent mix of firepower and guile.
Chicago Players had already banked on the class of Suresh Raina and Jacques Kallis, and used the draft to inject more fire into their bowling by picking Wayne Parnell, Varun Aaron, and Devendra Bishoo.
Detroit Falcons approached the draft with a clear strategy: stack the squad with quality all-rounders. With Shakib Al Hasan already in their ranks, they brought in Mossaddek Hossain and Ariful Haque, both proven domestic performers who add depth with both bat and ball.
Meanwhile, Washington Tigers boast a seasoned batting lineup featuring Parthiv Patel, Chris Lynn, and Ravi Bopara. To balance that, they’ll rely on Abhimanyu Mithun, Dan Christian, and Shahbaz Nadeem to keep opposing batters in check and provide crucial breakthroughs.
LA Strikers
Pre Signing- Aaron Finch (Icon), Isuru Udana (Platinum), Ben Dunk (Cat A), Chadwick Walton (Cat B), Ashley Nurse (Cat B), Anureet Singh (Cat C), Chirag Gandhi (Cat D), Jesal Karia (Cat C)
Draft- Gurkeerat Mann (Cat B), Naman Ojha ( Cat B), Jaskaran Malhotra (Cat C), Parvinder Awana (Cat C), Manan Sharma (Cat D), Nisarg Patel (Cat D), Kashyap Prajapati (Cat D)
Morrisville Fighters
Pre Signing- Harbhajan Singh (Icon), Shaun Marsh (Platinum), Munaf Patel (Cat A), Angelo Perera (Cat B), Bipul Sharma (Cat B), Chamara Kapugedera (Cat C), Danushka Gunathilaka (Cat C), Kristopher Ramsaran (Cat D)
Draft- Colin de Grandhomme (Cat B), Sheldon Cottrell (Cat B), Jerome Taylor (Cat C), Faiz Fazal (Cat C), Suboth Bhati (Cat D), Rahul Yadav (Cat D), Elmore Hutchinson (Cat D)
Rebel Warriors
Pre Signing- Thisara Perera (Icon), Mitchell Johnson (Platinum), Saurabh Tiwary (Cat A), Miguel Cummins (Cat B), Kennar Lewis (Cat B) , Samit Patel (Cat C), Oshane Thomas (Cat C), Amila Aponso (Cat D)
Draft- Martin Guptill (Cat B), Lendl Simmons, (Cat B), Chaturanga de Silva (Cat B), Jonathan Carter (Cat C), Jonathan Foo (Cat D), Andre McCarthy (Cat D), Trevon Griffith (Cat D)
The Chicago Players
Pre Signing- Suresh Raina (Icon), Jacques Kallis (Platinum), Shehan Jayasuriya (Cat A), Manpreet Gony (Cat B), Kesrick Williams (Cat B), Dilhara Fernando (Cat C), Jon-Russ Jaggesar (Cat C), Navin Stewart (Cat D)
Draft- Wayne Parnell (Cat B), Varun Aaron (Cat B), Devendra Bishoo (Cat C), Siddharth Trivedi (Cat C), William Perkins (Cat D), Pawan Suyal (Cat D), Vikas Tokas (Cat D)
Detroit Falcons
Pre Signing- Shakib Al Hasan (ICON), Cameron Delport (Platinum), Rishi Dhawan (Cat A), Nasir Hussain (Cat B), Sharad Lumba (Cat B), Nasir Hussain (Cat B), Malinda Pushpakumara (Cat C), Anthony Bramble (Cat D)
Draft- Mossaddek Hossain (Cat B), Enamul Haque Jr (Cat B), Ariful Haque (Cat C), Kamrul Islam Rabbi (Cat C), Rony Talukdar (Cat D), Al-Amin Hossain (Cat D), Mohammad Nihaduzzaman (Cat D)
Washington Tigers
Pre Signing- Parthiv Patel (Platinum), Chris Lynn (Cat A), Ravi Bopara (Cat B), Andrew Tye (Cat B), Rohan Mustafa (Cat C), Abhimanyu Mithun (Cat C), Zahoor Khan (Cat D)
Draft- Dan Christian (Cat B), Shahbaz Nadeem (Cat B), Phil Mustard (Cat B), Jeevan Mendis (Cat C), Sheldon Jackson (Cat D), George Worker (Cat D), Aakarshit Gomel (Cat D)
