MLC 2024: Los Angeles Knight Riders add Shakib Al Hasan to their roster

Shakib al Hasan (Photo Source: Twitter)

In a major reinforcement for the second season of the American franchise T20 league, Shakib Al Hasan has joined the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR).

Shakib will be integrating into a team loaded with international and T20 stars, as LAKR have retained key players like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Jason Roy, Spencer Johnson, and Unmukt Chand, among others. LAKR’s local talent pool includes recent inductees such as Adithya Ganesh, Derone Davis, Matthew Tromp, and Cirne Dry.

LAKR is owned by the group that also owns the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL (for whom Shakib played nine seasons) as well as the Trinbago Knight Riders men and women in the CPL, and the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the UAE’s ILT20.

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A statement from the Knight Riders group reaffirmed Shakib’s time-honoured association with the Knight Riders family, highlighting his vital contribution in their title-winning seasons of 2012 and 2014 in the IPL, and shared their enthusiasm for his return to the Purple and Gold this July.

“Shakib, of course, has a long-standing relationship with the Knight Riders family, having represented KKR in various phases – including our two championship [winning] seasons in 2012 and 2014. We can’t wait to see him turn up in Purple and Gold for LA Knight Riders this July,” a statement from the Knight Riders group said.

The MLC player draft was held on March 21, 2024 and it will be followed by another one on June 16, allowing the six teams to finalize their squads.

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Running from July 5 to July 29, the tournament will kick off with MI New York facing Seattle Orcas, the champions and runners-up of the inaugural edition, respectively. MI New York chased down the 184-run target with relative ease, with four overs to spare.