Best playing 11 of Los Angeles Knight Riders ahead of Major League Cricket 2023

Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) will be part of the first-ever Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 clash as they take on Texas Super Kings (TSK) in the tournament opener at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday, July 13. The six-team event also features Seattle Orcas, Washington Freedom, MI New York, and San Francisco Unicorns.

Recently, West Indies and Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) spin-bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine was named captain of the Los Angeles Knight Riders. Former West Indies batter Phil Simmons has been appointed as head coach, while Bharat Arun will be the bowling coach, Ryan Ten Doeschate the assistant coach, and AR Srikkanth the team analyst.

Apart from Narine, explosive England opener Jason Roy, New Zealand batter Martin Guptill, South African left-handed batter Rilee Rossouw, Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson and Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa are some of the prominent international players in the Los Angeles Knight Riders squad.

As LAKR gear up for their opening MLC 2023 clash, we pick the best playing XI for the franchise for the tournament.

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Openers: Jason Roy and Unmukt Chand

Jason Roy batting for KKR (Pic: iplt20.com)

Jason Roy should open the innings. He has a terrific record in T20 cricket and plenty of experience as well. In 323 matches, he has smashed 8473 runs at an average of 28.05 and a strike rate of 142.14, with six hundreds.

On his day, he can be the most explosive batter in the business. Roy was among the few positives for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2023. In eight matches, he smacked 285 runs at a strike rate of 151.60.

Former India U-19 captain, Unmukt Chand will feature in MLC 2023 as a domestic player. He has not been in great form lately but has the experience of 84 T20 games, scoring 1637 runs at a strike rate of 114.87.

Given the six overseas players limit, Martin Guptill is likely to miss out.

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Middle-order batters: Rilee Rossouw, Gajanand Singh, and Jaskaran Malhotra (wk)

Rilee Rossouw had an inconsistent run for Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2023. He scored 209 runs in nine games. However, he did show glimpses of brilliance during his scintillating 82* off only 37 balls in a game against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Los Angeles Knight Riders will expect similar knocks from him.

Gajanand Singh is a middle-order batter and is likely to occupy one of the domestic batting slots. He has played 22 T20s, scoring 314 runs at a strike rate of 118.93. Gajanand is also a part-time off-spinner, who can chip in if needed.

Another USA cricketer, Jaskaran Malhotra can be the keeper-batter in the Los Angeles Knight Riders playing XI. He has played 17 T20s, scoring 267 runs in the process.

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All-rounders: Andre Russell and Sunil Narine (c)

Skipper Sunil Narine warming up with some Los Angeles Knight Riders teammates. (Pic: @LA_KnightRiders/ Twitter)

The West Indies duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will look to reprise the significant roles they perform for KKR.

Of course, there will be additional responsibility on Narine, having been named captain of the team. Going through their numbers would be a pointless exercise since it’s a known fact that the duo are among the most experienced T20 cricketers of the current generation.

Russell will be keen to play some destructive knocks and win games for the LAKR franchise. Narine will also look to utilize his bowling skills at the death. The skipper himself will be expected to deliver the goods with the ball apart from chipping in with the willow as and when needed.

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Bowlers: Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Zampa

Shadley van Schalkwyk and Ali Khan can be the two domestic players in the Los Angeles Knight Riders bowling line-up.

Van Schalkwyk, 34, will offer a right-arm pace option. He has the experience of 94 T20s in which he has claimed 90 wickets at an average of 25.72.

Ali is also a right-arm pace bowler, who has picked up 53 scalps in 49 games.

Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and leg-spinner Adam Zampa can be the overseas bowling options.

Ferguson has delivered some fantastic performances in the IPL as well as for New Zealand although his consistency remains a question mark.

As for Zampa, he is a highly underrated bowler, who is a proven match-winner with the ball in hand.