He has taken 18 wickets in 11 matches, making him the leading wicket-taker in the tournament currently.
Punjab Kings star Xavier Bartlett, representing San Francisco Unicorns, saw his all-round contributions go in vain in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 Eliminator against MI New York at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas.
In the match, San Francisco Unicorns batted first and were bowled out for just 131 in 19.1 overs. They didn’t have much contribution with the bat from anyone, and when they were struggling at 42-6 in the ninth over, Xavier Bartlett came to the crease. Then he single-handedly helped San Francisco post a total so that their bowlers had something to bowl for. Bartlett scored 44 runs off just 24 balls, with two fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 183.33. The second-highest score in the innings was by Cooper Connolly, who scored 23 runs, followed by Brody Couch, who scored 19 runs. He has contributed for the Unicorns with the bat this season as he scored 134 runs in the six innings that he batted in the tournament, lower down the order. He also scored a half-century earlier in the tournament.
Not only with the bat, Bartlett also contributed with the ball for the Unicorns as he took a wicket in his spell. He dismissed the dangerous Kieron Pollard. Bartlett bowled 4 overs, gave away 27 runs, took 1 wicket, and bowled at an economy of 6.80. In the tournament, Bartlett has taken 18 wickets in 11 matches, making him the leading wicket-taker in the tournament currently.
Despite his all-round performance in this match, it was still not enough, as San Francisco Unicorns lost the Eliminator against MI New York narrowly by two wickets, and their campaign came to an end.
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In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Xavier Bartlett, who was bought by Punjab Kings in the auction before the season, played only four matches and took two wickets. So, there’s a chance he could be released by the team. However, based on the form he has shown with both bat and ball in MLC 2025, he has proved that he can contribute as an all-rounder and could be a valuable player to have in the squad. Earlier in the year, during the BBL in January 2025, he also took 12 wickets in nine matches. If given more opportunities in the IPL, he might perform well for Punjab Kings too. So, there’s also a possibility that PBKS might retain him ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, which is set to take place later this year.
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