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Wikipedia - 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 (MLC). 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 [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]...". 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' 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.