Reports: Steve Smith in contention to play for Washington Freedom in MLC 2024

Australia flamboyant batter Steve Smith is likely to be in contention for the second season of the Major League Cricket (MLC) in 2024. Notably, the inaugural edition of the MLC is all set to kickstart on Friday, July 14, as Texas Super Kings take on LA Knight Riders at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas.

For the unversed, Smith is the brand ambassador of Washington Freedom, as the franchise has a high-performance partnership with New South Wales, owned by entrepreneur Sanjay Govil, Michael Klinger and Greg Shipperd. In addition to this, the head of male cricket and head coach of the NSW hold similar roles with the franchise in the MLC.

Former Aussie cricketer and co-owner of the MLC franchise Michael Klinger opened up on Steve Smith’s relationship with the NSW and how he along with Moises Henriques can promote the Washington Freedom in the coming years.

"Steve (Smith) has a close relationship with New South Wales and Sydney Sixers. He obviously had five fantastic games in the last BBL, and to have him on board as an ambassador to promote the team is great. He's going to really lift the profile of the Washington Freedom,” Klinger told ESPNcricinfo.

“Some of his best mates, the New South Wales guys, are playing in the team, like [captain] Moises Henriques, and to be able to promote the Freedom with someone of Steve's stature is going to be great for us. We certainly hope it's a long-term relationship and we'll see how that goes down the track,” he added.

Got few NSW players who we'd certainly be interested in chatting to: Michael Klinger

Klinger further added that he hopes to convince a few NSW high-profile players to join the Washington Freedom setup for the second season of the MLC.

"We've got a few very strong New South Wales players who we'd certainly be interested in chatting to. You've got [Mitchell] Starc, you've got [Pat] Cummins, you've got [Josh] Hazlewood. Sean Abbott is involved in that group now as well. We have some really good options next year plus our current high-profile overseas we've got this year - hopefully we can retain some of them as well,” said Klinger.

It is worth mentioning that players such as Ben Dwarshuis, Moises Henriques, and Josh Philippe are the NSW players set to appear in the first edition of the MLC. Washington play Seattle Orcas in their first match of the season on Saturday, July 15.