Russell, Narine, Roy and Ferguson join Knight Riders in Los Angeles for MLC

Kolkata Knight Riders stars Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson and Jason Roy have signed up with Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) for the inaugural season of the MLC. Adam Zampa, Martin Guptill and Rilee Rossouw are the other high-profile international players signed by LAKR.

The LAKR squad also has Unmukt Chand, USA's Jaskaran Malhotra and Ali Khan. Malhotra is one of four men to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket, and the trio - alongside others - was picked up by the franchise at a draft in March.

Last month, Roy had agreed to a termination of his ECB incremental contract to pursue cricket in the USA's MLC competition this summer. He had also been a replacement player in IPL 2023 for KKR.

Russell and Narine continue their long-standing relationship with Knight Riders. Apart from KKR and now LAKR, they also represent Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20.

"We have assembled a strong and talented team for the debut season of MLC, who can compete at the highest level and bring joy to cricket fans around the world," Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore said in a statement. "The Knight Riders group is poised to make a significant contribution to the growth of cricket in the United States and to bring our unique brand of cricket to new audiences around the world."

The LAKR squad also features Ali Sheikh USA), Bhaskar Yadram (West Indies), Corne Dry (South Africa), Nitish Kumar (Canada), Saif Badar (Pakistan) and Shadley Van Schalkwyk (South Africa).

The MLC 2023 will be a six-team event scheduled from July 13 to 30 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.