Legends League Cricket
Legends League Cricket or LLCT20 (also known as Sky247.net Legends League Cricket for sponsorship reasons[1]) is a T-20 cricket league featuring players including recently retired international players.[2] The first edition of Legends League Cricket was held at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground, Muscat in January 2022, featuring three teams - India Maharajas, Asia Lions and World Giants.[3][4] The second edition was held in India in September 2022, and featured private-franchise owned teams across six major cities. The second edition of league had been dedicated to the India's 75th Independence celebrations, dubbed as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
| Dates | 16 September 2022 – 5 October 2022 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Absolute Legends Sports Pvt. Ltd. |
| Cricket format | T20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double Round robin, Eliminators and Finals |
| Host(s) |  India |
| Champions | India Capitals |
| Runners-up | Bhilwara Kings |
| Participants | 4 |
| Matches | 15 |
| Player of the series | Yusuf Pathan |
| Most runs |  William Porterfield (267) |
| Most wickets | Pravin Tambe (11) |
| Official website | https://www.llct20.com |
The league is organized by Absolute Legends Sports Pvt. Ltd.[5] Former Indian cricketer and India men's national cricket team coach Ravi Shastri is the Commissioner of the league.[6]
Background
Owned by Absolute Legends Sports Pvt Ltd, the Legends League Cricket is founded by Raman Raheja & Vivek Khushalani.[7] In November 2021, Ravi Shastri was appointed as the Commissioner of the League, immediately after his retirement as the Head Coach of the Indian National Cricket team.[8] Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram is associated with LLC as a member of the Apex Council along with Ravi Shastri.[9] Former captain of the Indian Women's cricket team, Jhulan Goswami, is the Women's Empowerment Ambassador for the league and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan is the Brand ambassador.[10] To ensure competitive cricket amongst the recently retired cricketers, Legends League Cricket appointed Andrew Leipus as the Director of Sports Science. His role is instrumental in working on the fitness and physical performance of the cricketers.[11]
First edition
For the first edition of the league, legendary cricketers Virender Sehwag (India Maharajas),[12] Misbah ul Haq (Asia Lions), and Darren Sammy (World Giants) were chosen to be the captains of their respective teams.[13] The league featured many cricketing legends like Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kevin Pietersen, Irfan Pathan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mohammad Kaif, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mohammad Yousuf amongst others, playing against each other to reignite famous cricketing rivalries of the recent past.[14] Shahid Afridi, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were also slated to play in the league but had to withdraw owing to the pandemic or other personal reasons.
The league launched a special initiative towards Women's empowerment in Cricket, with an all-women match officials team officiating over the entirety of first edition, which was a first of its kind initiative in men's cricket.[15]
The league broadcast on the leading Sports Television Networks, like Sony Pictures Sports Network and Sony Liv acquiring the rights for the India territory.[16] In Pakistan, TV rights were acquired by Geo Sports. In Sri Lanka, Supreme TV acquired the rights for the territory. Global Audio & Video streaming rights were acquired by Crictracker.[17]
Venue
First edition of the league was hosted under the aegis of Oman Cricket at Oman Cricket Academy Ground[18][19]
Cricket Stadium (Muscat)
| Venue | City | Country | Capacity | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oman Cricket Academy Ground | Muscat | Oman | 3,000 | 7 (Finals) |
Squads in first edition
| India Maharajas |
Asia Lions | World Giants |
|---|---|---|
|
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Although, initially named as captain of the India Maharajas, Virender Sehwag missed all matches of the first edition, after he was tested positive for COVID-19, just before the tournament started in Oman. Mohammed Kaif led the team in his absence.[20] Daniel Vettori also missed out due to Covid-related travel restrictions. Yuvraj Singh also missed out on the first edition of LLC owing to the birth of his child with his wife.[21] Harbhajan Singh also missed all the matches of the first edition after he tested positive for COVID-19.[22]
The League clashed with the PSL, resulting in a lot cricketers from Pakistan returning after the 1st round of matches. Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez,[23] Azhar Mahmood, Umar Gul played the first 2 matches for the Asia Lions, before returning to 2022 Pakistan Super League. Imran Tahir was only available for the first two matches, before leaving the World Giants' squad for prior commitments in the 2022 Pakistan Super League.[24]
Points table
Each team played the others only twice during the round-robin stage and Top two teams qualified for the final.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | World Giants | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1.008 |
| 2 | Asia Lions | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −0.452 |
| 3 | India Maharajas | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −0.437 |
Advanced to the Final.
1st match
Asia Lions 175/7 (20 overs) |
v |
India Maharajas 179/4 (19.1 overs) |
- India Maharajas won the toss and elected to field.
2nd match
World Giants 205/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Asia Lions 209/4 (19.2 overs) |
- Asia Lions won the toss and elected to field.
3rd match
India Maharajas 209/3 (20 overs) |
v |
World Giants 210/7 (19.3 overs) |
- World Giants won the toss and elected to field.
4th match
Asia Lions 193/4 (20 overs) |
v |
India Maharajas 157/8 (20 overs) |
- India Maharajas won the toss and elected to field.
5th match
Asia Lions 149/7 (20 overs) |
v |
World Giants 152/3 (13 overs) |
- World Giants won the toss and elected to field.
6th match
World Giants 228/5 (20 overs) |
v |
India Maharajas 223/7 (20 overs) |
- India Maharajas won the toss and elected to field.
Final
World Giants 256/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Asia Lions 231/8 (20 overs) |
- Asia Lions won the toss and elected to field.
- World Giants became the champions of the first season of Legends League Cricket.
Second edition
Background
After a successful first edition, LLC announced that a new format will be adopted and league will be held in India between 17 September and 5 October 2022.[25] The new edition adopted a new franchise based format, which was different from the first edition's region-specific format. Four new teams were launched, each being owned and operated by private ownership. Many ex-international cricketers have confirmed their involvement.[26]
In August, 2022, Ravi Shastri announced that the new league would honour the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of India's independence with a special commemorative match between India Maharajas and World Giants.[27] The match will be played on 16 September 2022 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with BCCI President and ex-India captain, Sourav Ganguly, and World-Cup winning ex-England captain, Eoin Morgan, leading the respective sides.[28][29]
The league has announced that this edition will have 15 matches, with the special commemorative match making it a total of 16. It was announced that this edition will be played in 6 different cities. The 6 cities named as venues for the matches are - Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi, Cuttack, Jodhpur and Rajkot.[30]
The league was broadcast on Star Sports Network acquiring the rights for the India territory.[31]
In September 2022, it was announced that India Maharajas and World Giants will be led by one of India's most successful opening batters, Virender Sehwag and legendary South African allrounder, Jacques Kallis respectively.[32]
Squads
The squads for India Maharajas and World Giants for the match to be played on 16 September 2022 are as follows:[33][34][35]
| India Maharajas |
World Giants |
|---|---|
- On 3 September 2022, Ganguly withdrew from the league citing personal reasons.[36]
Result
World Giants 170/8 (20 overs) |
v |
India Maharajas 175/4 (18.4 overs) |
- World Giants won the toss and elected to bat.
Venues
Gardens (Kolkata)
(Lucknow)
(Cuttack)
(Jodhpur)
The matches were played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Barkatullah Khan Stadium in Jodhpur, Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur and Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The Qualifiers were played in Jodhpur and the venue for the final was Jaipur.[37][38]
| Venue | City | Country | Capacity | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eden Gardens | Kolkata | India | 66,000 | 2 |
| Arun Jaitley Stadium | New Delhi | India | 41,842 | 3 |
| BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium | Lucknow | India | 50,000 | 3 |
| Barkatullah Khan Stadium | Jodhpur | India | 40,000 | 4 (Playoffs) |
| Barabati Stadium | Cuttack | India | 48,000 | 3 |
| Sawai Mansingh Stadium | Jaipur | India | 30,000 | 1 (Final) |
| New Delhi | Kolkata | Lucknow | Jodhpur | Cuttack | Jaipur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arun Jaitley Stadium | Eden Gardens | BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium | Barkatullah Khan Stadium | Barabati Stadium | Sawai Mansingh Stadium |
| Capacity: 41,842 | Capacity: 66,000 | Capacity: 50,000 | Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 48,000 | Capacity: 30,000 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Teams
The following teams and their owners were announced as taking part in the tournament:
| Team | Owner | Captain | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhilwara Kings | LNJ Bhilwara Group[39] | Irfan Pathan | Lalchand Rajput[40] |
| Gujarat Giants | Adani Sportsline | Virender Sehwag | Venkatesh Prasad[41] |
| India Capitals | GMR Group | Gautam Gambhir | Pravin Amre[42] |
| Manipal Tigers | Manipal Education and Medical Group | Harbhajan Singh | John Buchanan[43] |
Squads
Squads for the main tournament were selected through a draft which took place on 2 September 2022.[44][45]
The draft rules were as follows:
- 77 Players to be picked from 5 categories : Batters, Fast Bowlers, Spinners, All-rounders and Wicket Keepers
- Maximum 20 rounds of calling with one call from each team
- Each team will have 120 seconds to make a call in every round
- 18 to 25 players with a minimum of 6 Indian players to form a team
- Lucky draw decides the order of call after every round
- On 4 September 2022, Chris Gayle joined the Gujarat Giants.[46]
- On 5 September 2022, Corey Anderson, Daren Sammy and Imran Tahir were added by the Manipal Tigers.[47]
- On 9 September 2022, Solomon Mire and Ashley Nurse were added by the India Capitals.[48][49]
- On 9 September 2022, Due to unforeseen reasons, Mashrafe Mortaza missed out on playing for India Capitals and World Giants.[50]
Points table
A total of 12 league matches will be played in a double round robin format with each team playing against every other team twice. Of the four teams, top three teams will qualify for the playoffs.[51]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India Capitals | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1.001 |
| 2 | Bhilwara Kings | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −0.142 |
| 3 | Gujarat Giants | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −0.366 |
| 4 | Manipal Tigers | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −0.467 |
- Qualified for the playoffs
Tie-break criteria
- Number of wins.
- Head-to-head results. If this is not applicable, positions are decided by net run rate (NRR).
- If three or more teams are tied on points and the number of wins, positions are decided by net run rate.
League stage
On 23 August 2022, a tentative schedule for the league stage was announced on the Legends League Cricket Twitter page.[52] On 7 September 2022, the full schedule was announced.[53][54]
Round 1
India Capitals 179/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Gujarat Giants 180/7 (18.4 overs) |
- Gujarat Giants won the toss and elected to field.
Manipal Tigers 153/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Bhilwara Kings 156/7 (19.4 overs) |
- Bhilwara Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Manipal Tigers 120/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Gujarat Giants 121/8 (17.2 overs) |
- Gujarat Giants won the toss and elected to field.
India Capitals 198/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Bhilwara Kings 120 (19.2 overs) |
- Bhilwara Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Round 2
Gujarat Giants 152/7 (20 overs) |
v |
India Capitals 153/4 (18.5 overs) |
- India Capitals won the toss and elected to field.
Manipal Tigers 175/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Bhilwara Kings 172/9 (20 overs) |
- Bhilwara Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Bhilwara Kings 222/4 (20 overs) |
v |
Gujarat Giants 165 (19.4 overs) |
- Gujarat Giants won the toss and elected to field.
Manipal Tigers 161/5 (20 overs) |
v |
India Capitals 162/3 (17.2 overs) |
- India Capitals won the toss and elected to field.
- India Capitals qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.[55]
Gujarat Giants 186/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Bhilwara Kings 187/5 (19.4 overs) |
- Bhilwara Kings win toss and elected to field.
- Bhilwara Kings qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.[56]
India Capitals 183/2 (20 overs) |
v |
Manipal Tigers 186/7 (20 overs) |
- Manipal Tigers won the toss and elected to field.
- Gujarat Giants qualified for the playoffs and Manipal Tigers were eliminated as a result of this match.
Bracket
| Qualifier | Eliminator | Final | |||||||||||
| 1 | India Capitals | 231/6 (19.3 overs) | 1 | India Capitals | 211/7 (20 overs) | ||||||||
| 2 | Bhilwara Kings | 226/5 (20 overs) | 2 | Bhilwara Kings | 107 (18.2 overs) | ||||||||
| 3 | Gujarat Giants | 194/9 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Bhilwara Kings | 195/4 (18.3 overs) | |||||||||||
Bhilwara Kings 226/5 (20 overs) |
v |
India Capitals 231/6 (19.3 overs) |
- Bhilwara Kings won the toss and elected to bat.
Gujarat Giants 194/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Bhilwara Kings 195/4 (18.3 overs) |
- Gujarat Giants won the toss and chose to bat.
Final
India Capitals 211/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Bhilwara Kings 107 (18.2 overs) |
- Bhilwara Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- India Capitals became the champions of the second season of Legends League Cricket.
Viewership
As per reports, the 1st season of Legends League Cricket had a global reach of 703 million cricket fans from around the world.[57] As per reports, it became the most watched International T20 League in India outside of Indian Premier League, with more viewership than Big Bash, Caribbean Premier League or Pakistan Super League in India.[58]
Broadcasters
- Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar are the official broadcasters of this league in India.
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