Sunil Narine to lead the Los Angeles Knight Riders in inaugural edition of MLC 

The Los Angeles Knight Riders have announced Sunil Narine as their captain for the inaugural edition of the US-based Major League Cricket, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, July 13. The franchise is slated to play in the opening contest against the Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium.

The veteran spinner is a revered legend at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the parent franchise of the Knight Riders Group. He will have several of his KKR teammates like Lockie Ferguson, Jason Roy, and Andre Russell at his disposal at the Los Angeles Knight Riders. He even represents the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The LA-based franchise also has other reputed international players among its ranks, namely Adam Zampa, Martin Guptill, and Rilee Rossouw.

Narine was in contention to lead KKR as well during the 2023 IPL season after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out due to injury. However, the role ultimately went down to Nitish Rana, who guided the team to a seventh-place finish in the table.

Currently playing for Surrey in the Vitality T20 Blast, the Caribbean ace is expected to travel to the US and commence preparation for the upcoming season. He recently scored an unbeaten 78 off 38 deliveries while batting at No. 5 in Sussex's last-ball defeat to Essex at The Oval.

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Sunil Narine has led the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders during ILT20 2023

This marks the second Knight Riders Group outfit that Sunil Narine will lead. He led the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the inaugural season of the UAE-based International League T20 (ILT20) earlier this year.

However, he could only guide the team to one win in ten matches, leading to a finish at the bottom of the table.

Los Angeles Knight Riders full squad

Overseas players: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Adam Zampa, Jason Roy, Lockie Fergusson, Martin Guptill, Rilee Rossouw.

Drafted Players: Ali Khan, Ali Sheikh, Bhaskar Yadram, Corne Dry, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Saif Badar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Unmukt Chand

Will the veteran guide the Los Angeles Knight Riders to victory in the inaugural edition of MLC? Let us know what you think.