MLC
Shakib Al Hasan: Knight Riders is like a second home to me
|| CF CORRESPONDENT ||
Shakib Al Hasan remarked that the Knight Riders franchise is like a second home to him before leaving Bangladesh to play the upcoming Major League Cricket (MLC), the American franchise-run T20 league.
The Ace all-rounder has been signed by Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) for this season.
LAKR, owned by the group that owns Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL and Trinbago Knight Riders men and women in the CPL as well as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20 in the UAE.
“It always feels like a second home (Knight Riders) to me. Everyone is familiar, from the coaching staff to the officials, everyone. Naturally, there is a different kind of excitement. I hope to give my best and perform well.” Shakib said on Tuesday at Dhaka airport.
Shakib, who couldn’t perform at his level in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, lifted the trophy for the KKR in 2012 and 2014.
"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 after his signing.
LAKR finished last in the inaugural season of the MLC in 2023 and now they made a strong team for the upcoming season.
They have retained Sunil Narine, the star of KKR's table-topping run in the league stage of the ongoing IPL 2024, Andre Russell, Jason Roy, Spencer Johnson, Unmukt Chand, Ali Khan, Saif Badar, Nitish Kumar and Shadley van Schalkwyk, and drafted in local players Derone Davis, Matthew Tromp, Cirne Dry and Adithya Ganesh for MLC season two.
The second edition of the tournament will start on July 5 with a fixture between MI New York and Seattle Orcas, the winners and runners-up of the inaugural edition. The final will be played on July 29.