MI London have retained Rashid Khan and added Nicholas Pooran whereas Welsh Fireplace have signed Freya Kemp and Rachin Ravindra for the 2026 Hundred season.
New Zealand batter Ravindra joins his former Manchester Originals team-mate Phil Salt at Fireplace, whereas England all-rounder Kemp and Australia all-round Georgia Wareham are the franchise’s first signings for the ladies’s facet.
Afghanistan leg-spinner Khan shall be joined at MI’s males’s group by West Indies star Pooran, with New Zealand all-rounder Melie Kerr and Windies batter Hayley Matthews signing for the ladies’s group.
5-time Hundred champions MI – beneath their former Oval Invincibles guise – have already retained three England internationals in batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge and all-rounders Sam Curran and Will Jacks.
Groups are allowed to instantly signal or retain 4 gamers earlier than the public sale – a brand new addition for this season – which is ready to happen in March.
Khan, 27, helped his franchise win their third consecutive males’s title final yr, having beforehand performed three seasons for Trent Rockets.
The massive-hitting Pooran, 30, a veteran of the franchise circuit, has performed one prior season in The Hundred – for Northern Superchargers in 2024.
Kerr, 25, performed final season with Originals, having spent 2022 and 2023 with London Spirit, whereas Matthews, 27, spent the primary 5 seasons of The Hundred at Fireplace.
“The signings we’ve made have constructed a terrific spine for each the lads’s and ladies’s groups,” mentioned MI London chair Oli Slipper.
“Followers have been wowed by the performances of Rashid Khan on the Kia Oval final summer season and Nicholas Pooran is an extremely dynamic and thrilling cricketer.
“In Hayley Matthews and Melie Kerr, we’ve signed two gamers who’ve delivered on the largest phases for his or her international locations and have in depth expertise in franchise cricket.”
Kemp, 20, has spent 5 seasons at Southern Courageous, profitable the event in 2023.
Wareham, 26, was with Superchargers for the previous three years, however solely performed two video games of their 2025 title-winning marketing campaign.
Ravindra, 26, performed 4 video games for Originals final season, averaging 30.33 and taking three wickets together with his part-time spin.
“It is nice that we have been capable of safe three top quality gamers to come back to Welsh Fireplace for subsequent yr,” mentioned common supervisor Mark Wallace mentioned.
“That is very a lot a reset for the competitors and these signings give us a unbelievable base to construct the squad from within the Hundred public sale.”
