Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri was recently roped in as the Commissioner of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) which is a new tournament for retired players. LLC is scheduled in January 2022 and will be played in the Gulf.
Shastri, whose tenure with the Indian team ended following India’s exit from T20 World Cup 2021, said the Legends League Cricket is a unique initiative and has a very bright future.
"I am extremely thrilled to be a part of Legends League Cricket. This is a unique initiative and we see a very bright future ahead," Shastri said in a release issued by the event's organisers.
"It is going to be a lot of fun with some serious cricket going. These stalwarts have nothing new to prove but they have their reputation in line and I can assure you, it will be interesting to see how they do justice to it,” he added.
What is Legends League Cricket?
Legends League Cricket is a T20 tournament staged for retired players and was initially scheduled in March 2022 but will be played in January instead. The organisers had previously stated that they intend to host this tournament every two years.
The league will have retired players from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and England among other nations. These players will be divided into three teams representing India, Asia, and Rest of the World. However, there is no confirmation as to which of the players have signed for the tournament as of today.
Each team will play two matches before the top two teams go head-to-head in the final.
“The League would be played twice every year. In the first season, the league would be played in Tri-series format, with Indian team, Asian Team and a Rest of the World Team playing against each other,” a release back in September had mentioned.
“This would mean six league stage matches before the final match,” the release added.
Furthermore, to ensure a high level of fitness, the organizers signed Andrew Leipus as the Director of Sports Science. The Australian physio spent a whopping 12 years with Team Kolkata in the Indian T20 League before leaving in 2019. Before that, he spent five years (between 1999-2004) with the Indian national cricket team as well.
Featured photo: AFP / William West
