MLC: LA Knight Riders, MI New York rope in top international names

The Knight Riders Group will bring their world-class cricket brand to the historic debut season of Major League Cricket (MLC) this summer with Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR). The team will represent Los Angeles and the Southern California region in MLC.

Meanwhile, MI New York announced the signing of nine international players, completing the roster of 18 players, featuring a strong core of experience, homegrown talent, and young players, a feature that is common across all the MI teams, in three different continents, four different countries, and five different leagues.

According to the MLC release, The Los Angeles Knight Riders have pulled out all the stops to ensure a solid and competitive team for the inaugural season of MLC. The franchise has managed to rope in some of the most talented cricketers from around the world.

The international players in the Los Angeles Knight Riders squad include Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Adam Zampa, Jason Roy, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill and Rilee Rossouw, while the drafted players include Ali Khan, Ali Sheikh, Bhaskar Yadram, Corne Dry, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Saif Badar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk and Unmukt Chand.

Mumbai Indians legend Kieron Pollard will captain the MI New York team and the side also includes Afghanistan's T20 captain Rashid Khan and former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran. They will be joined by New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult and the Aussie duo of the big-hitting Tim David and pacer Jason Behrendorff.

The team will also feature rising South African star Dewald Brevis, pace sensation Kagiso Rabada and Namibian all-rounder David Wiese, who has previously represented South Africa as well. All the players except for David Wiese also play across multiple MI Teams - Mumbai Indians, MI Cape Town and MI Emirates, forming a strong core for MI, globally.

At the MLC draft held on 19th March 2023, MI New York drafted 9 players - the first two USA-born players in the form of former captain Steven Taylor, all-rounder Nosthush Kenjige, current USA captain Monank Patel along with wicketkeeper Shayan Jahangir and fast bowler Kyle Phillip.

The squad size can be a maximum of 19 players, of which nine can be overseas players. Maximum six international players are permitted in the playing XI, with five domestic players to feature in each match and ten domestic players on each roster at all times. The overseas players are direct signings by the franchises and were not part of the draft.

Major League Cricket will be the first professional Twenty20 cricket championship in the United States. The inaugural season of Major League Cricket will kick off in the summer of 2023.