Legends League Cricket to expand to 4-team format this year

The Legends League Cricket - the tournament for retired cricketers which caught the world's imagination earlier this year - is set to expand to a franchise format. The revamped LLC will return as a four-team tournament in September 2022, with former cricketers being divided among four teams following a player draft.

Two IPL team owners and a few team owners from the PSL are among those who have expressed interest in owning the four teams. The first step towards the September season will be an auction of the four franchises. The base price for the franchises has been kept at $600,000.

"We are now inviting expressions of interest in owning a franchise in the Legends Cricket League. Already we have received a favourable response from two of the existing IPL (Indian Premier team owners and a few franchise owners of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and South African leagues," Absolute Legends Sports CEO Raman Raheja told Economic Times on Tuesday.

Initially played in January this year, the LLC was played between three teams - India Maharajas, Asia Lions and World Giants. Cricketers like Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Akhtar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Darren Sammy, Herschelle Gibbs, Brett Lee, Kevin Pietersen and Jonty Rhodes were part of the tournament in Oman. Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Shahid Afridi and Daniel Vettori were also supposed to be part of the teams, but they could not participate due to Covid-19 and other reasons.

Organisers claim the season was the second most watched cricket league in the world after IPL.

According to the organisers, such a tri-series will be held every year in March while September will see a franchise tournament. The four-team tournament is set to expand to a 6-team tournament next September, the organisers said.