4 KKR players from IPL 2023 who are part of LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket (MLC)
The Knight Riders Group, which runs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, have taken their footprint to the USA and the upcoming Major League Cricket with LA Knight Riders. The Group already has teams in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and other private white-ball competitions around the world.
They are also the pioneers of the trend to retain the same core group of players across their teams in different competitions. This has multiple benefits, including year-long monitoring of players and their development, sharing of scouting data, better access to young talent across countries, and a joint set-up of a global brand.
LA Knight Riders too, thus have four players who featured in IPL 2023 for KKR:
#1 Andre Russell
"Even my country never really invest that much on me," Andre Russell had recently said about KKR in an interview. The all-rounder has shown loyalty and love in his actions too as LA Knight Riders are his fourth team from the franchise after KKR, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders.
Russell has been a part of KKR since 2014 and has had innumerable memorable moments here. He has scored 2262 runs from 112 matches at a strike rate of 174 and has also picked up 96 wickets at an average of 24.49.
The franchise is often praised to back him through his lean patches and myriad injury problems and he has returned the favor by becoming one of the most feared all-rounders in the IPL. This season, though, was among his worst, as he just managed 227 runs at an average of just over 20 after playing all 14 games.
#2 Sunil Narine
Like Russell, Sunil Narine has become almost synonymous with KKR and by joining LA Knight Riders will continue a remarkable journey.
He played a key role in their 2012 and 2014 title wins and now also plays for Trinbago in the Caribbean Premier League and Abu Dhabi in the International League T20.
The legendary spinner is known for being unplayable during the Gautam Gambhir era and is still valuable at 35. He has 163 IPL wickets to his name at an average of 25.79 and a stunning economy rate of 6.73.
Like Russell and injuries, KKR have backed Narine through the thick and think of his bowling action controversies.
#3 Jason Roy
Jason Roy joined KKR in IPL 2023 for the first time as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan, who pulled out of the season due to personal reasons.
He played eight matches, the most for him in any IPL season, and did decently well, scoring 285 runs at an average of 35.63 and a strike rate of 151.60 with two half-centuries.
To join LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket, Roy had to terminate his contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). This triggered some backlash on social media and Roy had to clarify that playing for England was still his priority.
#4 Lockie Ferguson
Lockie Ferguson at KKR would always be remembered for his 13-wicket season in 2020, which included a couple of fiery spells of 2/10 against Delhi Capitals (DC) and 3/18 against Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Gujarat Titans (GT) grabbed him in the 2021 auction and Ferguson again picked 12 wickets before KKR traded him back in 2022.
However, he just played three matches in the season, picking only one wicket due to a combination of injury and poor form.
However, unlike KKR, he'll be the main man at LA Knight Riders and they would hope that the speedster can set Major League Cricket on fire with his pace and toe-crushing yorkers.