Sunil Narine has been handed captaincy of the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) ahead of the inaugural season of the Major League Cricket. Narine represents parent franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, with whom he has won two titles.The LAKR squad is made up of a strong set of international players - Narine, Andre Russell, Jason Roy, Lockie Ferguson, Rilee Rossouw, Martin Guptill, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson along with the domestic USA players - Ali Khan, Unmukt Chand, Ali Sheikh, Bhaskar Yadram, Corne Dry, Jaskaran Malhotra, Nitish Kumar, Saif Badar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk and Gajanand Singh.
Narine will be assisted by a coaching staff that includes Phil Simmons (head coach), Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant coach) and Bharat Arun (bowling coach).The USA-based tournament will be contested from July 14 to 31 across two venues, with six teams in the fray. MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom are the other teams that will compete in the MLC. The veteran spinner acknowledged his pleasure at being appointed as captain, stating he has always wanted to represent the Knight Riders in whichever league. With numerous experienced players on the squad, the 35-year-old hopes they can succeed in the first-ever season. Furthermore, on July 14, Knight Riders will kick off their MLC campaign against Texas Super Kings, co-owned by Chennai Super Kings, at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas."I've always spoken about wanting to represent the Knight Riders wherever they play. We've long talked about coming to the United States and I'm glad it's finally happening. As captain of this side, I am looking forward to the challenge. There are a lot of experienced guys in this team who I can bounce information off, so it will be an exciting time for us," the Trinidadian cricketer said in a Knight Riders release.
