World Giants captain Aaron Finch (right) during a training session at Asian Town International Stadium, yesterday.
Doha: Retired stars will descend at the Asian Town International Stadium today evening when the Gautam Gambhir-led India Maharajas take on Shahid Afridi’s Asian Lions in the opening clash of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2023 with as many as 50 former players taking part in the ten-day tournament.
LLC has already created ripples in Qatar with tickets for the opening match being already sold out.
The presence of former Pakistani star Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar is sure to thrill the spectators. Sri Lankans Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando and Upul Tharanga are also part of Asia Lions.
Gambhir’s Maharajas have former India stars Harbhajan Singh, the Pathan brothers – Irfan and Yusuf, S Sreesanth, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Stuart Binny among others.
The third team in the T20 tournament is World Giants led by former Australian captain Aaron Finch, who will have at his disposal compatriot’s Brett Lee, Shane Watson, West Indian Chris Gayle, New Zealander Ross Taylor, South African’s Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, England’s Monty Panesar and Paul Collingwood along with Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien and Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan.
Speaking ahead of the tournament and commenting on the growth of LLC over the years, Raman Raheja, Co-founder and CEO of Legends League Cricket said: “Legends League Cricket has grown immensely since its inception. In the first season, we had 59 cricketers. Season 2 saw nearly 80 cricketers and now as we enter the third season we have a plethora of options to zero in on 50 cricketers to be a part of the tournament across the three teams.
“The greatest thing we have achieved this season is the addition of recently retired cricketers like Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Mohamed Amir and Aaron Finch among others. It is a clear testament to the fact that LLC did create a strong demand and fans want to see them back on the field. With such positive developments, we are surely expecting the league to be much more competitive,” he added.
The event since its inception has attracted huge television viewership and also sponsorship support. The inaugural edition of the event was held in Oman, while the second was held in India. Former Indian skipper and head coach Ravi Shastri is the League Commissioner and former Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami is the Women Empowerment Ambassador.
Eight matches are scheduled for the series, and all of them will be played at the Asia Town Cricket Stadium and will begin at 5:30 pm.
