Ganguly-Morgan to captain star-studded teams in LLC

Former India skipper and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly will lead India Maharajas in an exhibition match against a World Giants team, which will be driven by Former England captain Eoin Morgan, on September 16.

The game, set to be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, is part of Legends League Cricket (LLC), a private tournament organised by Absolute Legends Sports. It is a curtain-raiser for the league’s second release, which also celebrates India’s 75th year of Independence.

“This is a proud moment for us that we are celebrating the 75th year of our independence, as a proud Indian, it gives me immense satisfaction to share that we have decided to dedicate this year’s league to the 75th year of Independence celebration.”

Ravi Shastri, the LLC commissioner, said in a statement

Apart from Ganguly, the match is set to feature Former India players like Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel – every one of whom played under Ganguly’s captaincy – among others.

The Maharajas squad also includes S Sreesanth, the Former India quick bowler who reported his retirement from domestic cricket earlier this year after making a brief return to top-flight cricket following the lifting of his seven-year ban relating to the IPL spot-fixing case.

Here we go! One of India's most iconic captains and cricket's all-time greats Dada @SGanguly99 is now on #BossLogonKaGame.

Legends don't get bigger than this! Welcome to @llct20, #Dada. @DasSanjay1812#BossGame #LLCT20 #LegendsLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/hbCCypmJCT

— Legends League Cricket (@llct20) July 20, 2022

Aside from Morgan, a World Cup winner with England in 2019, the Giants also have Former South Africa stars Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Dale Steyn and Herschelle Gibbs in their positions. Sanath Jayasuriya and Muthiah Muralidaran make up the Sri Lankan portrayal, while Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson are the two Australians in the 17-member squad.

The first season of the league was held in January this year in Oman, with three teams – Maharajas, Giants and Asia Lions- taking part. Giants won the competition following a high-scoring final against Lions.

The second season will feature four teams, and 15 matches altogether.

India Maharajas: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Yusuf Pathan, S Badrinath, Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel (wk), Stuart Binny, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Naman Ojha (wk), Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Ajay Jadeja, RP Singh, Joginder Sharma, Reetinder Singh Sodhi

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World Giants: Eoin Morgan (capt), Lendl Simmons, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Sanath Jayasuriya, Matt Prior (wk), Nathan McCullum, Jonty Rhodes, Muthiah Muralidaran, Dale Steyn, Hamilton Masakadza, Mashrafe Mortaza, Asghar Afghan, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Kevin O’Brien, Denesh Ramdin (wk)