Los Angeles Knight Riders

Last updated

Los Angeles Knight Riders
Los Angeles Knight Riders logo.png
League Major League Cricket
Personnel
Captain Sunil Narine
Owner Knight Riders Group [1]
Team information
City Los Angeles, California, United States (planned)
ColoursPurple and Gold
  
Founded2020;5 years ago (2020)
Home ground Great Park Cricket Stadium (planned)
Capacity10,000 (planned)
Official website https://www.lakriders.us/
Kit left arm lightgold border.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body lakr23.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm lightgold border.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit trousers long.png

T20 kit

Knight Riders Group
Current Teams
Kolkata Knight Riders (2008-present)
Simple gold cup.svg X 3 (2012, 2014, 2024)
Trinbago Knight Riders (2015-present)
Simple gold cup.svg X 4 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2020)
Trinbago Knight Riders Women (2022-present)
Simple gold cup.svg X 1 (2022)
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (2023-present)
Los Angeles Knight Riders (2023-present)
Defunct Teams
Cape Town Knight Riders (2017)

The Los Angeles Knight Riders are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team based in the Greater Los Angeles area that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). [2] The team's planned home ground is in Great Park in Irvine, California.

Contents

The franchise is owned by the Knight Riders Group, a sporting subsidiary alliance between the Red Chillies Entertainment and the Mehta Group. [3] The Knight Riders' minor league affiliate—the Los Angeles Lashings compete in Minor League Cricket. [4]

History

Background

In December 2020, it was announced by Major League Cricket that the Knight Riders Group had bought a stake in their league, and as a result, was given ownership rights to the LA Knight Riders. [5] [6] Plans for the team were reaffirmed in April 2021 with CEO Venky Mysore stating that the team would even have their own stadium. [7] More plans on this stadium would be revealed nearly a year later in April 2022, with plans for a 10,000-seat cricket stadium costing $30 million. [8] [9]

In July 2022, Mysore reaffirmed once again his intent of starting a brand in L.A. stating that, "we [the Knight Riders Group] also made a big investment in... MLC where we were involved from the inception of the idea. We'll be setting up [the] LA Knight Riders and we're also building a stadium [there]...". [10] In November later that year, the 2023 season of MLC was officially announced. [11] Shortly thereafter, in March 2023, more information about the LA Knight Riders was revealed, including the unveiling of its team logo. [12] [13]

2023 season

Prior to the launch of the official season, it was announced the MLC's inaugural domestic draft would take place on March 19, 2023. [14] The Knight Riders had the final pick of the draft and selected the Hurricanes' Ali Khan as their first draft pick. [15] Over the course of the draft, the Knight Riders selected various players including the likes of Unmukt Chand, Corné Dry, and Saif Badar. [16] The Knight Riders announced their full squad on June 13, with England's Jason Roy, Australia's Adam Zampa, West Indies' Sunil Narine and New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson all in the mix. [17] Mysore, upon the squad's unveiling, stated that, "we have assembled a strong and talented team for the debut season of MLC, who can compete at the highest level and bring joy to cricket fans around the world". [18] On July 10, team management announced that Narine would lead the team as the captain and that Phil Simmons would be the team's head coach. Alongside Simmons, Bharat Arun and Ryan ten Doeschate were subsequently announced as the team's bowling and batting coaches, respectively. [19]

2024 season

Ahead of the 2024 season opener on July 5, the Knight Riders retained a vast majority of their squad, including Roy, Narine, and Chand. [20] The team would also sign various overseas and domestic players, consisting of the likes of Bangladeshi Shakib al Hasan and local boy Matthew Tromp. [21] [22]

Current squad

Los Angeles Knight Riders roster
PositionNameNationalityDate of birth (age)Batting styleBowling styleYear signedNotes
Batters Jason Roy Flag of England.svg  England July 21, 1990 (age 34)Right-handedRight-arm medium2023Direct signing
David Miller Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 10 June 1989 (age 35)Left-handedRight-arm off break 2024
Nitish Kumar Flag of the United States.svg  United States May 21, 1994 (age 30)Right-handedRight-arm off-break2023
Saif Badar Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan July 3, 1998 (age 26)Right-handedRight-arm legbreak2023
Unmukt Chand Flag of India.svg  India March 26, 1993 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm off-break2023
All-Rounders Andre Russell WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies April 29, 1988 (age 36)Right-handedRight-arm fast2023Direct signing
Shadley van Schalkwyk Flag of the United States.svg  United States August 5, 1988 (age 36)Left-handedRight-arm medium2023
Sunil Narine WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies May 26, 1988 (age 36)Left-handedRight-arm off-break2023Direct signing; Captain
Matthew TrompFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa April 1, 2005 (age 19)Right-handedRight-arm medium-fast2024
Shakib Al Hasan [25] Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh March 24, 1987 (age 37 )Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2024Direct Signing
Wicket-KeepersAditya GaneshFlag of India.svg  India October 9, 1991 (age 33)Left-handed2024
Bowlers Adam Zampa Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia March 31, 1992 (age 32)Right-handedRight-arm legbreak2023Direct signing
Ali Khan Flag of the United States.svg  United States December 13, 1990 (age 34)Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium2023
Corne Dry Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa February 4, 1993 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium2024released & re-drafted in 2024
Spencer Johnson Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia December 16, 1995 (age 29)Left-handedLeft-arm fast2023Direct signing
Derone Davis WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies October 14, 1992 (age 32)Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2024
Josh Little Cricket Ireland flag.svg  Ireland 1 November 1999 (age 25)Right-handedLeft-arm medium-fast 2024Direct signing
Waqar Salamkheil Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan October 2, 2001 (age 23)Right handed Left-arm wrist spin 2024Direct signing

Administration and support staff

PositionName
Head coach Phil Simmons
Assistant coachTBD
Bowling coach Bharat Arun
Team ManagerWayne Bentley
AnalystTBD
PhysiotherapistsPrasanth Panchada
Ruel Rigsby
Strength and conditioning coachSagar VM
Source:

Performance

Standings

YearLeague standingFinal standing
2023 6thLeague stage
2024 5thLeague Stage

Team statistics

OpponentsPlayedWinsLossesNR
MI New York 2020
San Francisco Unicorns 3021
Texas Super Kings 2110
Seattle Orcas 3210
Washington Freedom 2020

Season summary

YearPlayedWinsLossesNR
2023 5140
2024 7241

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References

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