Los Angeles Knight Riders


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. The team's planned home ground is in Great Park in Irvine, California.
The franchise is owned by the Knight Riders Group, a sporting subsidiary alliance between Red Chillies Entertainment and the Mehta Group. The Knight Riders' minor league affiliate—the Los Angeles Lashings compete in Minor League Cricket.

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. Plans for the team were reaffirmed in April 2021 with CEO Venky Mysore stating that the team would even have their own stadium. 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.
In July 2022, Mysore reaffirmed once again his intent of starting a brand in L.A. stating that, "we also made a big investment in... MLC where we were involved from the inception of the idea. We'll be setting up LA Knight Riders and we're also building a stadium ...". In November later that year, the 2023 season of MLC was officially announced. Shortly thereafter, in March 2023, more information about the LA Knight Riders was revealed, including the unveiling of its team logo.

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. The Knight Riders had the final pick of the draft and selected the Hurricanes (cricket)|Hurricanes]' Ali Khan as their first draft pick. Over the course of the draft, the Knight Riders selected various players including the likes of Unmukt Chand, Corné Dry, and Saif Badar. 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. 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". 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.

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

Current squad

  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
  • Direct signings are players that have been bought by the team for undisclosed prices overseas.
PositionNameNationalityDate of birth Batting styleBowling styleYear signedNotes
BattersAlex HalesRight-handedRight-arm medium2025Direct signing
BattersSherfane RutherfordLeft-handedRight-arm fast medium2025Direct Signing
BattersNitish KumarRight-handedRight-arm off-break2023
BattersSaif BadarRight-handedRight-arm legbreak2023
BattersUnmukt ChandRight-handedRight-arm off-break2023
BattersRovman PowellRight-handedRight-arm medium-fast2025Direct Signing
BattersAndre FletcherRight-handedRight-arm medium-fast2025Direct Signing
All-RoundersAndre RussellRight-handedRight-arm fast2023
All-RoundersShadley van SchalkwykLeft-handedRight-arm medium2023
All-RoundersSunil NarineLeft-handedRight-arm off-break2023Vice-captain
All-RoundersMatthew TrompRight-handedRight-arm medium-fast2024
All-RoundersJason HolderRight-handedRight-arm medium-fast2025Captain
All-RoundersKarthik GattepalliLeft hand BatSlow Left arm Orthodox2025Draft Signing
Wicket-KeepersAditya GaneshLeft-handed2024
BowlersTanveer SanghaRight-handedRight-arm legbreak2025Direct signing
BowlersAli KhanRight-handedRight-arm fast-medium2023
BowlersCorne DryRight-handedRight-arm fast-medium2024
BowlersSpencer JohnsonLeft-handedLeft-arm fast2023
BowlersAnrich NortjeRight-handedRight-arm fast2025Direct Signing