The player draft of the Major League Cricket (MLC) happened on Monday, March 20, 2023, and saw Aaron Finch, the former Australia captain, becoming the first overseas signing by San Francisco Unicorns and it was announced that he will also captain the side.

Finch was one of six names that were unveiled during the draft, followed over the next 90 minutes by fellow Australians Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh, as well as South Africans Anrich Nortje and Quinton de Kock and Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga.

Finch will join fellow Australian Marcus Stoinis at the Unicorns, while Mitchell Marsh will join Quinton de Kock in Seattle Orcas. Nortje and Hasaranga have been signed to play for Washington (DC) Freedom.

Unicorns used their first two picks on Corey Anderson and Liam Plunkett, who both now reside in the USA after having married Americans.

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San Francisco Unicorns have signed a strategic partnership with Cricket Victoria, while Orcas have signed with the Delhi Capitals franchise. Washington (DC) Freedom has a strategic partnership with Cricket New South Wales.

In the draft, U.S. internationals Monank Patel and Steven Taylor were snapped up by MI New York, while former Canadian captain Nitish Kumar went to the Los Angeles Knight Riders.

The six-team league would be played in a single round-robin format from July 13 to 30 with a new venue in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, Texas.

(Reuters/ESPNCricinfo inputs)