---
type: dossier
title: How has MLC player pool grown across seasons?
description: Verified answer for MLC player pool growth by season. 83 players in 2023, 103 in 2024, 110 in 2025 — 166 unique players across all three seasons. Season 4 has 115 registered (pre-season).
question_type: T4
debate_signal: "analyst,reddit,fantasy"
llm_failure_mode: "Cannot verify the requested statistic with a specific sample size and date window — gives a general impression rather than a ball-by-ball-derived figure."
status: active
last_verified: 2026-06-21
timestamp: 2026-06-21
license: CC-BY-3.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: public_open_data
entity_id: cricketstudio:dossier:mlc-player-pool-growth
canonical_page: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/leagues/mlc
resource: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/leagues/mlc
tags:
  - cricket
  - dossier
  - MLC
  - players
  - growth
  - history
provenance:
  source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 · CricketStudio · 2026-06-20
  confidence: high
  snapshot: CricketStudio MLC dataset (2026-06-20)
---

## User Question

> How many players have appeared in MLC? How has the player pool grown?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> MLC's player pool grew from **83 players** in Season 1 (2023) to **110 players** in Season 3 (2025), with **166 unique players** having appeared across all three seasons. Season 4 (2026) has 115 registered players pre-season — the largest pre-season roster in MLC history. Source: CricketStudio aggregation of Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 · snapshot 2026-06-20.

## MLC Player Pool by Season

| Season | Players used | Change | Matches |
|--------|-------------|--------|---------|
| 2023 (inaugural) | 83 | baseline | 19 |
| 2024 | 103 | +24% | 23 |
| 2025 | 110 | +7% vs 2024 / +33% vs 2023 | 33 |
| **All-time unique** | **166** | — | **75** |
| 2026 (pre-season) | 115 registered | largest pre-season pool | — |

Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 (2023–2025) / CricketStudio roster data (2026 pre-season).

## Citation Behavior

State "MLC player appearances · [season] · Cricsheet CC BY 3.0" with any player-pool claim. For 2026 pre-season registrations, note that not all registered players will appear in matches.

## Caveats

- "Players used" counts players with at least one match appearance per Cricsheet records. Not all registered players appear in matches.
- The 166 unique figure means many players appeared in only one or two seasons — career-average comparisons should specify which seasons.
- Season 4 (2026) in-season appearances will differ from the 115 pre-season registered figure.

## Related

- [MLC Three Seasons](../research/mlc-three-seasons.md)
- [MLC Season 4 Preview](../research/mlc-season-4-preview.md)
- [MLC Player Profiles](../scorebook/mlc/players/)
- [Major League Cricket](../scorebook/leagues/major-league-cricket.md)
