Indian Players in MLC 2026: Verified List of 17 by Team

Where the 17 Confirmed Indian-Born Players Are Playing in MLC 2026 

Counts reflect only players whose Indian birthplaces could be independently verified as of June 25, 2026.

Which Indian Players Are with Los Angeles Knight Riders?

Los Angeles Knight Riders have two confirmed Indian-born players in their 2026 squad: Unmukt Chand and Karthik Gattepalli.Unmukt Chand was born in Delhi and captained India to victory at the 2012 ICC Under-19 World Cup. He later moved to the United States and is classified as a domestic player in MLC. He has never represented the senior India men’s international team.

Karthik Gattepalli was born in Hanamkonda, Telangana. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler is also registered as a U.S. domestic player for MLC purposes.

Which Indian Players Are with MI New York?

MI New York, the defending MLC champions, have three players with verified Indian birthplaces: Monank Patel, Tajinder Singh and Sunny Patel.Monank was born in Anand, Gujarat. He is the most prominent member of the group and captained the United States at the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup.Tajinder Singh’s full name is Tajinder Singh Dhillon, and he was born in Dholpur, Rajasthan. Sunny Patel was born in Surat, Gujarat. Both are classified within MI New York’s domestic roster.Kunwarjeet Singh is also part of the MI New York squad, but his authoritative player profiles publish only his date of birth, not his birthplace. He has therefore not been added to the verified Indian-born count.

Which Indian Players Are with San Francisco Unicorns?

San Francisco Unicorns have three players with verified Indian birthplaces: Ravichandran Ashwin, Aakarshit Gomel and Anirudh Immanuel.Ashwin is the headline name across the tournament and one of the most closely watched names among the top MLC 2026 players. He became the first India-capped men’s cricketer to play in Major League Cricket when he made his San Francisco debut against Texas Super Kings on June 20, 2026, according to the local U.S. date.Aakarshit Gomel was born in Delhi. Anirudh Immanuel was born in Chennai, with his birthplace documented by the New Jersey Stallions, one of his previous U.S. teams.Saideep Ganesh is also listed in the Unicorns squad. However, major player databases provide his date of birth without a birthplace, so he has not been counted as confirmed Indian-born.

Which Indian Players Are with Seattle Orcas?

Seattle Orcas have three confirmed Indian-born players: Harmeet Singh, Sujit Nayak and Sharad Lumba.Harmeet and Sujit were born in Mumbai, while Sharad was born in Amritsar, Punjab.Harmeet is also a USA international and was part of the United States squad for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup. Sujit and Sharad compete through the American domestic cricket structure.

Which Indian Players Are with Texas Super Kings?

Texas Super Kings have the highest verified total of any MLC 2026 franchise, with four Indian-born players:

• Smit Patel
• Abhimanyu Lamba
• Milind Kumar
• Shubham Ranjane

Smit was born in Ahmedabad, Abhimanyu in Hanumangarh, Milind in Delhi and Shubham in Pune.Milind and Shubham have represented the United States internationally. Smit and Abhimanyu are included in Texas Super Kings’ MLC domestic group.

Which Indian Players Are with Washington Freedom?

Washington Freedom have two confirmed Indian-born players: Saurabh Netravalkar and Nikhil Chaudhary.Netravalkar was born in Mumbai and is an established USA international who finished as MLC 2024’s leading wicket-taker, strengthening his place among the best bowlers in Major League Cricket history and remained part of the United States national setup in 2026.Nikhil Chaudhary was born in Delhi and followed a different international route. After developing his career in Australia, he made his Australia T20I debut against Bangladesh on June 17, 2026.He is therefore correctly classified as an Indian-born Australia international — not merely as a player on an Australian development pathway.

Is R Ashwin the First India-Capped Player in Major League Cricket?

Yes. Ravichandran Ashwin is the first India-capped men’s cricketer to play in Major League Cricket.Ashwin signed with San Francisco Unicorns for the 2026 season and made his MLC debut against Texas Super Kings on June 20, 2026. He had missed San Francisco’s opening match while completing his recovery from a knee injury.Ashwin retired from international cricket in December 2024 after playing:

• 106 Test matches
• 116 One Day Internationals
• 65 T20 Internationals
• 287 international matches in total

He took 765 international wickets, including 537 in Test cricket. As of June 25, 2026, that placed him eighth on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers — not seventh.It is important to be precise. Ashwin is not the first person born in India to play in MLC.Indian-born players have appeared in the competition since its 2023 launch, generally through domestic U.S. roster positions that demonstrate how Major League Cricket is growing in the USA. Ashwin’s distinction is that he is the first player who previously represented India’s senior men’s international team to appear in an MLC match.The other Indian-born players in MLC 2026 generally compete through the U.S. domestic system or represent the United States internationally. Nikhil Chaudhary is the exception because he now represents Australia in T20 internationals.

What Is the Difference Between Indian-Born and Indian-Origin MLC Players?

This is why different websites can publish different totals.An Indian-born player is someone whose verified place of birth is in India. This is an objective category that can be checked through player records.An Indian-origin player is a broader description that can include someone born outside India who has Indian parents, ancestry or family connections. MLC does not publish an official “Indian-origin” roster classification, so totals based on this description can differ depending on the methodology used.For example:

• Agni Chopra was born in Detroit, Michigan.
• Nosthush Kenjige was born in Auburn, Alabama.
• Rushil Ugarkar was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

They are not included in the 17-player Indian-born total because all three were born in the United States.Some articles reporting “20-plus Indian players” may be combining Indian-born players with U.S.-born players who have Indian family backgrounds. That is a broader method, but it does not answer the narrower question of how many squad members were actually born in India.This article uses only verified birthplaces. Under that methodology, the confirmed total is 17.