Heinrich Klaasen sacked as captain, Matthew Mott punished in brutal shake-up at Seattle Orcas

The Seattle Orcas have made big changes in their leadership midway through the ongoing Major League Cricket 2025 (MLC 2025). After a disappointing start to the season with five straight losses, Heinrich Klaasen stepped down as the Seattle Orcas captain, and head coach Matthew Mott was removed by the franchise from his role in the middle of the tournament.

The franchise called the removal of Matthew Mott and resignation of Heinrich Klaasen "strategic mid-season leadership changes." The Major League Cricket has confirmed that South Africa’s explosive batter decided to step away from captaincy "to focus fully on his responsibilities as a batter."

Heinrich Klaasen steps down, Matthew Mott removed after 5 straight losses in Major League Cricket 2025

The franchise explained that Mott's departure came due to "differences in coaching and management strategies." However, Mott, who had joined the Orcas before this season, has not been replaced yet, but Sikandar Raza was appointed as the new captain for the rest of the Major League Cricket 2025.

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The Seattle Orcas stated that Sikandar Raza was the "unanimous choice" to lead because of his "extensive international experience and cricketing intelligence." Currently, Rishi Bhardwaj serves as the assistant coach, while Ian Bell and Munaf Patel take care of the batting and bowling departments.

The Seattle Orcas announced these changes on June 27, just before their sixth match in the ongoing Major League Cricket 2025 against MI New York in Dallas. The latest moves proved fruitful for the franchise, as they pulled off a thrilling last-ball win over MI New York.

Story of Seattle Orcas in MLC 2025

Despite high-scoring games being common in the ongoing Major League Cricket 2025, the Seattle Orcas could post scores of 149 for 5, 200 for 5, and 177 for 6 when batting first but collapsed for 60 and 144 when chasing.

Klaasen has also been going through a rough patch, scoring just 55 runs across five innings, with a strike rate of 144.73 in the ongoing Major League Cricket 2025.

Notably, the Orcas are co-owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports, who also co-own the Delhi Capitals in the IPL and WPL, along with the Pretoria Capitals in SA20 and the Dubai Capitals in ILT20.

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This is a moment of reflection and renewal for us: Seattle Orcas CEO

Hemant Dua, CEO of the Seattle Orcas, said in a statement, “This is a moment of reflection and renewal for the Seattle Orcas. This has been a tough run for the team, and with it, some difficult decisions had to be made. We are grateful to Matthew for his commitment and professionalism during his time with us, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

He further added, “We respect Heinrich's decision to step down voluntarily as captain to focus on his batting. This reflects his character and team-first mindset. Sikandar was our unanimous choice once we heard from Klaasen about his decision. We believe these changes set the stage for a strong second half of the season.”

Notably, the Orcas had a rough season in MLC 2024, finishing at the bottom of the table after their strong run in the 2023 inaugural season, where they topped the table and reached the final. They had lost the MLC title to MI New York. Wayne Parnell led the team in 2023, with Heinrich Klaasen taking over as captain in 2024, and now he has left the captaincy.

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