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
ColoursPurple and Gold
  
Founded2020 (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
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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, otherwise known as the LA Knight Riders, are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). [2] The team plans to be based in Los Angeles, California and was originally announced in 2020 as a team to play in Major League Cricket. [3] The franchise is owned by the Knight Riders Group, a sporting subsidiary alliance between the Red Chillies Entertainment and the Mehta Group. [4]

Contents

The team plans to have their home ground at Great Park in Irvine, California. [5] The stadium is expected to cost $30 million and seat upwards of 10,000 spectators once its completion around 2024 and 2025. [6] The Knight Riders' minor league affiliate—the SoCal Lashings also separately play in MLC's developmental league, Minor League Cricket. [7]

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. [8] [9] Plans for the team were reaffirmed in April 2021 with CEO Venky Mysore stating that the team would even have their own stadium. [10] 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. [11] [12]

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]...". [13] In November later that year, the 2023 season of MLC was officially announced. [14] Shortly thereafter, in March 2023, more information about the LA Knight Riders was revealed, including the unveiling of its team logo. [15] [16]

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. [17] The Knight Riders had the final pick of the draft and selected the Hurricanes' Ali Khan as their first draft pick. [18] Over the course of the draft, the Knight Riders selected various players including the likes of Unmukt Chand, Corné Dry, and Saif Badar. [19] 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. [20] 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". [21] 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. [22]

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. [23] The team would also sign various overseas and domestic players, consisting of the likes of Bangladeshi Shakib al Hasan and local boy Matthew Tromp. [24] [25]

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 33)Right-handedRight-arm medium2023Direct signing
David Miller Flag of South Africa.svg 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 35)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 [28] 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 32)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 33)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 28)Left-handedLeft-arm fast2023Direct signing
Derone Davis WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies October 14, 1992 (age 31)Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2024
Josh Little Cricket Ireland flag.svg  Ireland 1 November 1999 (age 24)Right-handedLeft-arm medium-fast 2024Direct signing
Waqar Salamkheil Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan October 2, 2001 (age 22)Right handed Left-arm wrist spin 2024Direct signing

Administration and support staff

PositionName
Head coach Phil Simmons
Assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate
Bowling coach Bharat Arun
Team ManagerWayne Bentley
AnalystAR Srikkanth
PhysiotherapistsPrasanth Panchada
Ruel Rigsby
Strength and conditioning coachSagar VM
Source:

Performance

Standings

YearLeague standingFinal standing
2023 6thLeague stage

Team statistics

OpponentsPlayedWinsLosses
MI New York 101
San Francisco Unicorns 202
Texas Super Kings 211
Seattle Orcas 110
Washington Freedom 101

Season summary

YearPlayedWinsLosses
2023 514
2024 211
Source: ESPNCricinfo [29]

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References

  1. ↑ Shamya Dasgupta and Peter Della Penna (November 30, 2020). "Knight Riders Group buys stake in USA T20 franchise project Major League Cricket". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  2. ↑ "KKR's Shah Rukh Khan buys LA-based team, hopes to bring Hollywood closer to cricket with LA Knight Riders". Times Now. December 1, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  3. ↑ Badwe, Akshay (December 1, 2020). "One more in the bag: Shah Rukh Khan buys Los Angeles franchise LA Knight Riders". The Bridge Chronicle. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (May 1, 2022). "Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders Group to Invest in $30 Million Cricket Stadium Near Los Angeles". Variety . Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ Gupta, Gaurav (April 30, 2022). "Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders and MLC to build cricket stadium in Los Angeles". The Times of India . Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ Della Penna, Peter (April 29, 2022). "MLC, Knight Riders team up for 10,000-seat stadium near Los Angeles". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ Meyer, Nhat (August 14, 2022). "Photos: Fans flock to professional cricket match". The Mercury News . Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ Ganguly, Sudipto (December 1, 2020). "IPL's Knight Riders buy stake in U.S.-based Major League Cricket". Reuters . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Shah Rukh Khan invests in American cricket's future, buys Los Angeles franchise of cricket league, names it LA Knight Riders". The Economic Times. December 1, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  10. ↑ Sajad, Kal (April 20, 2021). "The story of the Knight Riders brand". BBC Sport . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Knight Riders to build cricket stadium in Los Angeles". The National . May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders Group all set to build 'a world class cricket stadium' in Los Angeles". The Indian Express. April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ Khosla, Varuni (July 18, 2022). "US ranks at number two on cricket consumption: Venky Mysore". Mint . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  14. ↑ Della Penna, Peter (November 15, 2022). "Major League Cricket set for July 2023 launch in Dallas". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  15. ↑ Gollapudi, Nagraj (March 16, 2023). "Owners of Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals to own teams in MLC". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  16. ↑ Los Angeles Knight Riders [@LA_KnightRiders] (March 18, 2023). "Coming soon, to the city of stars" (Tweet). Retrieved May 4, 2023– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ Della Penna, Peter (February 3, 2023). "MLC set to launch with draft on March 19 at NASA's Johnson Space Center". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  18. ↑ Della Penna, Peter (March 20, 2023). "Harmeet Singh goes first in MLC Draft to Seattle Orcas; Ali Khan and Unmukt Chand snapped by LA Knight Riders". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  19. ↑ Srivatsan, Padmaja (March 20, 2023). "MLC 2023 Draft: After BBL stint, Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand gets picked up by LA Knight Riders, Corey Anderson & Aaron Finch also get takers in Major League Cricket". Inside Sport . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Russell, Narine, Roy and Ferguson join Knight Riders in Los Angeles for MLC". ESPNcricinfo. June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  21. ↑ Ramesh, Akshay (June 13, 2023). "MLC 2023: Narine, Russell are Knight Riders again". India Today . Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Narine to lead LA Knight Riders, Simmons named head coach". ESPNcricinfo . July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  23. ↑ Roller, Matt (February 15, 2024). "MLC: Rashid, Klaasen, Pooran, Boult, Rauf among overseas players retained". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  24. ↑ Patel, Smit (July 5, 2024). "Four fresh domestic faces to watch out for in the MLC season 2". Cricbuzz . Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Los Angeles Knight Riders sign Shakib al Hasan for MLC 2024". ESPNcricinfo . May 17, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  26. ↑ https://mlct20usa.com/los-angeles-knight-riders-lakr/
  27. ↑ "Finch to captain San Francisco in Major League Cricket, Seattle sign De Kock". Reuters . March 20, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Los Angeles Knight Riders sign Shakib Al Hasan for MLC 2024". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Major league Cricket Points Table". ESPNCricinfo . February 6, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
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