Baltimore Royals

Last updated

Baltimore Royals
Baltimore Royals Logo.png
League Minor League Cricket
ConferenceEastern Division (Atlantic Conference)
Personnel
Captain Sunny Sohal
OwnerRajit Passey
Team information
City Baltimore, Maryland
Colours  Orange, and   Dark Orange.
Founded2020;4 years ago (2020)
Home groundVeterans Memorial Park
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit trousers long.png

T20 kit

The Baltimore Royals (formerly the DC Hawks) are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. [1] [2] The franchise is currently owned by Rajit Passey. [1]

Contents

The team's home ground is Veterans Memorial Park, located in Woodbridge, Virginia. [3] American international Sunny Sohal currently helms as captain, with former IPL cricketer Bipul Sharma standing by as vice-captain. [4] [5]

Ravi Inder Singh tops the batting leaderboard for the team with 564 runs, [6] while Sarabjit Ladda tops the bowling team with 29 wickets. [7]

Franchise history

Background

The logo for the then-DC Hawks DC Hawks Logo.jpg
The logo for the then-DC Hawks

Talks of an American Twenty20 league started in November 2018 just before USA Cricket became the new governing body of cricket in the United States. [8] [9] In May 2021, USA Cricket announced they had accepted a bid by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) for a US$1 billion investment covering the league and other investments benefitting the U.S. national teams. [10]

In an Annual General Meeting on February 21, 2020, it was announced that USA Cricket was planning to launch Major League Cricket in 2021 and Minor League Cricket that summer, [11] but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic [12] and due to the lack of high-quality cricket stadiums in the USA. [13] Major League Cricket was pushed to a summer-2023 launch [14] and Minor League Cricket was pushed back to July 31, 2021. [15]

USA Cricket CEO Iain Higgins also pointed out cities such as New York City, Houston and Los Angeles with a large cricket fanbase, and targeted them among others as launch cities for Minor League Cricket. [16]

Exhibition league

In July 2020, the player registration for the Minor League Cricket exhibition league began. [17] On August 15, 2020, USA Cricket announced the teams participating in the exhibition league matches, also listing the owners for each team. [18] The draft for the exhibition league began on August 22, 2020, [19] with the DC Hawks releasing their squad on September 2. [20] Navin Stewart was later named as captain for the DC Hawks in the exhibition league. [20]

2021 season

After the conclusion of the exhibition league, USA Cricket announced that they were planning to launch the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket in spring 2021. [21] Ahead of the official season, which was announced to kick off on July 31, [22] they announced Sunny Sohal as captain and Adil Bhatti as vice-captain. [4]

In their first match of the season, they beat the Florida Beamers by 65 runs, but lost to the New England Eagles by 33 runs the same day. [23] They then went on to win against the Philadelphians, [24] the Eagles twice, [25] [26] the Titans, [27] the Stallions, [25] the Yorkers, [28] and the Cavaliers. [29] They additionally lost against the Philadelphians, [29] the Titans, [27] the Stallions, [25] the Yorkers, [30] the Cavaliers, [24] the Fire, [31] and the Param Veers. [26]

The Hawks placed 4th in their group, thus missing the quarter-finals. [30]

2022 season

Ahead of the 2022 season, Major League Cricket announced that the draft for that season would take place on May 12. [32] Ahead of the official season, it was announced that American international Sunny Sohal would continue to captain the side, with former IPL cricketer Bipul Sharma taking over the role of vice-captain following Adil Bhatti's departure to the Empire State Titans. [33]

Throughout the season, the Hawks lost twice against the Stallions, the Titans, and the Yorkers, [34] lost once against the runners-up Atlanta Fire, [35] won once and lost once against the Eagles and the Philadelphians, [36] won once against the Lions, and won twice against the Cavaliers. [37] Overall, the Hawks ended with a 5-9 win-loss record, securing them fifth in their division and unable to go to the play-offs.

2023 season

Before the start of the 2023 season, it was announced that the DC Hawks would undergo a name-change to the Baltimore Royals. [2]

Current squad

NameNationalityBirth dateBatting styleBowling styleYear signedNotes
Batsmen
Abdullah GhaziFlag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 18 May 1988 (age 36)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast 2021Overseas
Franklin ClementFlag of the United States.svg  United States 21 April 1993 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021
Ritwik Behera Flag of the United States.svg  United States 10 November 2003 (age 20)Right-handedRight-arm off break 2021
Shehan PereraFlag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 11 February 1987 (age 37)Right-handedRight-arm off break 2021Overseas
Sunny Sohal Flag of the United States.svg  United States 10 November 1987 (age 36)Right-handedRight-arm leg break 2021 Captain
Talal ZiaFlag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 25 March 1986 (age 38)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021Overseas
All-rounders
Shukri Rahim Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 6 October 1986 (age 38)Right-handedRight-arm off break 2021Overseas
Adil Bhatti Flag of the United States.svg  United States 28 October 1984 (age 40)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021 Vice-captain
Dane Piedt Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 6 March 1990 (age 34)Right-handedRight-arm off break 2021Overseas
Ishan SharmaFlag of the United States.svg  United States 17 May 2003 (age 21)Right-handedRight-arm fast medium 2021
Naseer Islam Flag of the United States.svg  United States 23 September 1972 (age 52)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast 2021
Rasesh BeheraFlag of the United States.svg  United States 30 August 2001 (age 23)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021
Ravi Inder Singh Flag of India.svg  India 4 December 1987 (age 36)Left-handedRight-arm off break 2021Overseas
Raviteja ReddyFlag of the United States.svg  United States 11 February 1993 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm leg break 2021
Sahil KapoorFlag of the United States.svg  United States 11 August 1986 (age 38)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast 2021
Waleed KarimullahFlag of the United States.svg  United States 8 June 1993 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021
Bowlers
Sarabjit Ladda Flag of India.svg  India 25 October 1974 (age 50)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast 2021Overseas
Wicket-keepers
Christopher van TullFlag of the United States.svg  United States 5 October 1986 (age 38)Right-handedRight-arm fast 2021

See also

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References

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  2. 1 2 Minor League Cricket [@MiLCricket] (February 28, 2023). "New season, new name! The DC Hawks are now the Baltimore Royals. The name might be new, but the attitude is still the same. Join us in welcoming the Royals for the upcoming 2023 MiLC Season!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Minor League Division Preview Series - Eastern". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. July 27, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Punjab cricketers move to US with eye on national team". Hindustan Times . July 7, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  5. ↑ Ehrenhaft, Ethan (October 4, 2022). "Cricket's popularity takes off in Howard County as adult and youth leagues gain hundreds of players and youth pitch opens". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  6. ↑ "DC Hawks - Batting". CricClubs.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  7. ↑ "DC Hawks - Bowling". CricClubs.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  8. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (January 8, 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  9. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (November 27, 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  10. ↑ "USA Cricket Chooses Partner to Fund and Develop U.S.-Based Professional T20 Cricket League". USA Cricket . May 23, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  11. ↑ "USA Cricket Board Meeting February 2020". USA Cricket . February 27, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  12. ↑ "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. August 2, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  13. ↑ "American Major League Cricket tournament launch pushed to 2023 at Annual General Meeting". Inside the Games . May 24, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
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  15. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (July 30, 2021). "Minor League Cricket: T20 league in USA kicks off with Sami Aslam, Corey Anderson in the mix". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
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  17. ↑ "Minor League Cricket Announces Player Registration Opening". USA Cricket . July 7, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket . August 15, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft to Take Place Today". USA Cricket . August 22, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  20. 1 2 "17 of the 24 Squads Confirmed as Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft is completed". USA Cricket . September 2, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
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  22. ↑ "American Cricket History to be Made on Minor League Cricket Opening Weekend". Major League Cricket . USA Cricket. July 29, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  23. ↑ "The Monday All Rounder - Opening Weekend". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 2, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  24. 1 2 "The Monday All Rounder - Week Two". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 9, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 "The Monday All Rounder - Week 3". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 16, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  26. 1 2 "The Tuesday All Rounder - Week Six". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. September 7, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  27. 1 2 Patel, Smit (September 2, 2021). "Minor Cricket League Week 5: Ricardo Powell turns back the clock". CricBuzz. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  28. ↑ Patel, Smit (August 25, 2021). "Minor League Cricket Week 4: Unmukt Chand makes his presence felt". CricBuzz.com. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
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  30. 1 2 "The Monday All Rounder - Week Eight". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. September 20, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
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  32. ↑ "Title and Presenting Partners Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championship". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
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  35. ↑ Patel, Smit (August 3, 2022). "MiLC Week 6: East Bay Blazers End Silicon Valley Strikers 11-game Winning Streak". Cricbuzz . Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  36. ↑ "The MiLC All Rounder - Week One". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. June 28, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
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