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The Major League Cricket 2023 is all set to hit the cricketing world. The US Cricket sanctioned the first edition of this franchise league T20 tournament and it will kick start on July 13 in Dallas where the Grand Prairie Stadium will be hosting the opening game of the competition.
The Knight Riders Group who owns the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League showed interest in buying a team in the MLC 2023 and successfully bid for a team.
They bought a team named Los Angeles Knight Riders. They will be featuring against the Texas Super Kings in the opening game of Major League Cricket 2023 on July 13.
The Knight Riders did a fine job to select a well-balanced squad for the MLC 2023. They have selected players who have got plenty of experience in the shortest format and they certainly start as favorites in the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket 2023.
On that note, here is a look at what their squad looks like and their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Los Angeles Knight Riders Squad for MLC 2023
Jason Roy, Martin Guptill, Rilee Rossouw, Unmukt Chand, Saif Badar, Nitish Kumar, Andre Russell, Jaskaran Malhotra, Sunil Narine, Adam Zampa, Lockie Ferguson, Gajanand Singh, Ali Khan, Corne Dry, Spencer Johnson, Ali Sheikh, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Bhaskar Yadram
Strengths
The Los Angeles Knight Riders have a solid top order. The likes of Jason Roy, Martin Guptill, Rilee Rossouw, and Unmukt Chand can certainly instill fear in the opposition bowlers and if they get going, they will be hard to stop. With Andre Russell to follow, they can bank on their batting lineup to chase any total.
The biggest strength of the Knight Riders is their bowling unit. Ali Khan and Lockie Ferguson will lead the pace-bowling attack. The spin department comprises Sunil Narine and Adam Zampa. Khan, Ferguson, and Russell can nail the yorkers in the death overs and can certainly run through the opposition's batting lineup.
Weaknesses
The inexperienced middle order might be a threat to the Knight Riders heading into the inaugural edition of MLC 2023. The likes of Unmukt Chand, Nitish Kumar, and Saif Badar haven’t had much experience at the highest level and they can be vulnerable, come the big stage.
Opportunities
Unmukt Chand led the India Under-19 side to victory in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2012 in Australia. He retired from Indian cricket and moved to the US in a bid to seek opportunities. The upcoming MLC provides a great opportunity for him to prove his worth and present his case for selection for the USA side.
Threats
The local players will have to step up for the Los Angeles Knight Riders if they are to go all the way in the Major League Cricket 2023. They will be playing on such a big stage along with some superstars of the game for the first time. If they don’t perform, the over-reliance on the top-order batters might turn out to be a threat to them.
Probable XI of Los Angeles Knight Riders for MLC 2023
Jason Roy, Martin Guptill, Unmukt Chand, Jaskaran Malhotra (wk), Nitish Kumar, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Adam Zampa, Lockie Ferguson, Ali Khan, Ali Sheikh,
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