Knight Riders Sports, owners of cricket franchises across four continents, has partnered with CricMax Connect as the Official Cricket Development Partner of the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR). The partnership, announced yesterday in Los Angeles, will establish a national network of Knight Riders Cricket Academies to develop youth cricket across the United States.

While over $300 million has been invested in professional cricket infrastructure in the United States through Major League Cricket (MLC), it is equally important to build programs that create a feeder system for various leagues and encourage youngsters to take up the sport, a joint press statement by the two organisations stated yesterday.

As the American audience grows rapidly for cricket, among the 5.4 million-strong South Asian diaspora and beyond, this partnership is designed to bridge that gap by combining Knight Riders Sports’ globally proven franchise model with CricMax Connect’s decade-long track record in community cricket development, its established network of academies and township partnerships, and its exclusive role as the cricket partner of the PlayLA Olympic youth initiative, the statement added.

This partnership further strengthens CricMax Connect’s position as a key growth engine for cricket in the United States ahead of the sport’s return to the Olympic stage at LA28.

As part of their long-term vision for cricket in the United States, the Los Angeles Knight Riders have unveiled the Knight Riders Cricket Grounds at Fairplex in Pomona, Los Angeles County, as their official home venue for the 2026 season.

The venue is set to host key major cricket matches this season, marking an important step in establishing a dedicated cricketing base in Southern California. Beyond matchdays, this facility reflects the Knight Riders’ continued investment in building Los Angeles into a leading cricket destination in the United States while also supporting both professional competition and the growth of cricket at a grassroots level.

Under the agreement, the two organisations will jointly build Knight Riders Cricket Academies nationwide in the US, supported by professional coaching programs, masterclass clinics, and talent exhibition pathways that provide young cricketers with direct exposure to best practices in the sport. CricMax Connect’s proprietary technology platform, Quixera, will power talent identification and scouting across the network.

Venky Mysore, CEO, Knight Riders Sports, said in a statement: “This partnership with CricMax Connect is a strategic step towards building a strong grassroots foundation for cricket in the United States. By combining our global ecosystem with their community-led expertise, we are creating a clear pathway from youth development to the professional game.

“As the sport grows in the United States, our focus is on nurturing talent, strengthening the ecosystem, and ensuring long-term, sustainable growth for cricket in America.”

“We’ve spent over a decade building cricket from the ground up in American communities, coaching youth, partnering with townships, and earning our place as the exclusive cricket partner of PlayLA and the LA28 Olympics,” said Vinay Bhimjani, CEO of CricMax Connect and former CEO of USA Cricket.

“The partnership with Knight Riders’ and its global platform will enable us to bring our scouting expertise and technology infrastructure together with their franchise reach to deliver what American cricket has been missing: a complete ecosystem that develops talent at the grassroots and connects it to the professional game,” he added.

The Knight Riders brand is a global brand in international cricket, with nine trophies to its name and four professional franchises under its wings — Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the TATA IPL, Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Caribbean Premier League, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) in UAE’s International League T20 and Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) in USA’s Major League Cricket, making it one of the most versatile brands in T20 cricket globally.

CricMax Connect is America’s community cricket infrastructure platform, powering youth development through branded academies, coaching technology (Quixera), premium equipment and coach certification programmes.