In May 2022, Major League Cricket announced that it had secured $120 million from various investors across the United States.[6] One of these investors was Sanjay Govil, who was later announced to be the lead investor and owner of the Washington DC–based franchise team.[7] Alongside MLC, Govil partnered up with George Mason University to launch a feasibility study into a 12,000-seat hybrid cricket/baseball stadium later that year in December.[8][9] The proposed stadium would host both cricket and baseball games and support up to 12,000 spectators upon its completion in summer 2025.[10][11] George Mason University announced in March 2024 that it would not proceed with the stadium.[12]
In February 2023, Major League Cricket announced that Govil had entered a partnership with Cricket New South Wales to help accelerate the growth of the DC-based franchise.[13] The agreement included initiatives to further player development opportunities, as well as cricket content, within the U.S., an exchange program of coaches and support staff, and opportunities for NSW-based players to play in MLC.[14] Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon stated that "... he [Govil] was very keen to not have an IPL partner... [and wanted to] partner with someone outside who could really bring what we wanted to the table."[15]
In March 2023, the team's name, Washington Freedom, and logo were officially unveiled to the public.[16] Upon the unveiling of the team name and logo, Govil said that, "the team's mark and colors are a perfect for a team from the nation's capital to compete on the global stage."[17]
Ahead of the inaugural season opener, the team announced it would be led by Australian Moises Henriques and coached by Greg Shipperd.[23][24]Tanveer Sangha was brought on in early July as a replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga, who dropped out, while Matthew Short was added to the squad as an injury replacement for Josh Philippe.
During the group stage, the Freedom were narrowly defeated by Seattle before a six-run defense against Texas marked the team's first victory in the tournament. They would then proceed to prevail in a run chase of 176 against Los Angeles and demolish San Francisco by 30 runs, ensuring a playoff berth.[25][26] A defeat at the hands of New York, however, would see them confined to a third-place group stage finish heading into the finals.[27] New York would again defeat the Freedom in the Eliminator, taking them out of finals contention and ending their tournament.[28]
With Smith appointed the team's captain and Ricky Ponting replacing Shipperd as head coach,[35] he led the Freedom through a dominant tournament – with Maxwell and fellow Australian teammate Travis Head firing with the bat and Netravalkar and New ZealanderRachin Ravindra topping the league's bowling charts.[36] In the group stage, they went top of the table by first recording a 3-0-1 record in Morrisville. Barring one washout game against Texas, the Freedom defeated New York by 4 runs in a rain-affected endeavor, cruised past Seattle by 5 wickets, and crushed Los Angeles by 8 wickets. In Grand Prairie, the team continued their undefeated streak by again defeating Los Angeles, steamrolling New York by 94 runs, and clinching a heavy 42-run victory over Texas. Their only defeat of the season came at the hands of San Francisco, as they were downed by 6 wickets. In the finals, the Freedom defeated the Unicorns by 96 runs to win their first title.[37]
The following year in February, ahead of the Freedom's third season, the team once again retained much of its overseas and domestic cadre, but had to let go of Head due to an overlapping Australian tour of the West Indies. In the four-month leadup to the season opener, the Freedom made a slew of signings to fill up its remaining team spots, including Mitchell Owen and Glenn Phillips. Amidst concern that Smith would not be able to play for the Freedom due to international commitments, the Freedom confirmed that they were eyeing a 2-match stint for him.[38] Ultimately, due to an injury, he dropped out of the tournament as the captaincy role was given to Maxwell.[39]
As defending champions,[40] the Freedom began their season with a crushing 123-run loss to San Francisco – courtesy of Finn Allen's mammoth 151.[41] They quickly recovered, going 4-0 with a 5-wicket win over Seattle,[42] a heavy 113-run Maxwell-powered victory over Los Angeles,[43] a thrilling last-over 2-wicket game against New York,[44] and a high-scoring 7-wicket chase against Texas.[45] The Freedom closed off their Dallas leg of the tournament strong by again defeating Los Angeles via a last-ball single and delivering San Francisco a 12-run defeat, their first of the season.[46] Ensured of a playoff berth, Washington headed into Lauderhill with a 6-1 record, tied with San Francisco on points but lower on net run rate.[47]
At Lauderhill, in a rain-affected game, the Freedom began poorly with a hefty 43-run defeat to Texas.[48][49] However, in a play for a top-two finish, the Freedom steamrolled Seattle by 8 wickets and eased past New York by 6 wickets.[50][51] After shooting up to a first-place group stage finish heading into the playoffs,[52] the Freedom advanced on higher seeding to play New York in the final following a Qualifier 1 washout.[53] The Freedom ultimately were downed by 5 runs in a last-over thriller, providing New York with their second MLC championship.[54]
Home stadium
After previously eyeing George Mason University for a potential home stadium, the Freedom's plans were scrapped in early March of 2024.[55] Its construction had faced opposition from both students and university neighbors, hence the proposal's rejection.[56][57] Thus, looking elsewhere, Freedom co-owner Sanjay Govil "lobbied top [D.C.] officials" for a cricket stadium on the defunct RFK Stadium's campus.[58] The stadium, which was initially envisioned to be a temporary 4,000-seater stadium,[59] evolved into a 10,000-seater proposal in the wake of a $3.7 billion New Commanders deal.[60]
The team is also pushing for a potential stadium in Frederick, Maryland, which is situated in the D.C. metro area.[61] Called "Frederick Gateway", the facility would host a maximum of 25,000 spectators and would require the rezoning of some land.[62] The rezoning proposal unanimously cleared the Frederick Planning Commission on July 14, 2025, and awaits the City Council, while a site plan could end up before the Commission in spring 2026.[63]
Current squad
Players with international caps are listed in bold.
