Corey Anderson exit signals Unicorns reset ahead of MLC domestic draft

Monank Patel (MI New York), Harmeet Singh (Seattle Orcas), Andries Gous (Washington Freedom), Shubham Ranjane (Texas Super Kings), Shadley van Schalkwyk (LA Knight Riders) and Hassan Khan (San Francisco Unicorns) headline the list of domestic retentions, all securing contracts in the top $75,000 bracket ahead of the MLC domestic draft scheduled for late Monday night.

For USA captain Monank, the elevation marks a deserved climb from the $45,000 tier after a standout 2025 season, where he finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer. Van Schalkwyk, USA's World Cup hero, has been similarly rewarded leapfrogging to the top bracket after finishing second in the wickets charts at the just concluded T20 World Cup.

Unicorns parted ways with captain Corey Anderson. After an underwhelming 2024, Anderson's struggles carried into 2025, managing just 12 runs in three outings before injury curtailed his campaign. Former England all-rounder Liam Plunkett also exits as the Unicorns usher in a phase of reset with only 5 domestic retentions despite a playoff berth last season.

LA Knight Riders have released their top domestic draft pick Adithya Ganesh, who featured in just one game across two years. Nitish Kumar has also been moved on, with the franchise instead choosing to invest in the potential of Saif Badar.

Orcas have taken a more measured approach by retaining their core. Apart from the forced absence of Aaron Jones following his ICC suspension, there is little room to reshape their domestic strategy, with only Steven Taylor and Sujith Nayak departing.

Elsewhere, Super Kings' decision to move on from Zia-ul-Haq raised eyebrows, given his role as a consistent bowling spearhead over the past three seasons. The releases of Freedom's Justin Dill, MINY's Ehsan Adil and Unicorns' Carmi le Roux is set to further add depth to the fast-bowling pool in the draft.

There are likely to be around 15 spots up for grabs at the draft. MINY and Freedom appear largely settled, with balanced rosters. Others, however, have their work cut out. Each franchise will operate with a draft purse of $355,000, adjusted based on their retention numbers.

MLC Domestic Retentions – 2026 Season