The highlight on LLC has intensified with the dazzling efficiency from Irfan Pathan within the opening match of the 2023 version.Crafting an explosive innings of 65 runs off 19 balls, adorned with 9 towering sixes, Pathan etched a spectacle that has solely heightened the attract of LLC. The league continues to captivate followers with thrilling matches scheduled till December 9, 2023.
Furthermore, a gathering between former Indian captain MS Dhoni and the CEO of Legends League Cricket has sparked fervent hypothesis about Dhoni’s potential inclusion within the league’s illustrious roster. In a trajectory paying homage to cricketing icons like Kevin Pietersen, Gautam Gambhir, and Chris Gayle, legends comparable to Dhoni seem poised to increase their cricketing legacy within the twilight of their illustrious careers.
In an unique interview with TimesofIndia.com, Raman Raheja, the co-founder and CEO of Legends League Cricket, delved into the event’s significance as a revered platform for cricketing legends.
What’s the significance of Legends League Cricket within the cricketing world?
We’ve greater than 100 crore cricket followers in our nation and not less than half of that outdoors of India as nicely. So when you’ve got such a big inhabitants, and we grew up taking a look at our heroes, we by no means need them to retire. We are saying Dhoni ought to proceed to play until he is 50+ or perhaps greater than that. So it is all the time laborious when any individual like that retires, followers really feel dangerous. So the concept was that they might prolong their taking part in profession and on condition that right this moment’s cricket has develop into very aggressive with kids and bodily health arising, the typical age of a cricketer is definitely coming down.
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We see a number of the large iconic gamers are pressured to take early retirement, with perhaps 5 – 6 years of cricket left in them. We felt that if we may peck them in opposition to an analogous stature of health, perhaps we may prolong their profession by 4 or 5 years. In order that was the one thought of this explicit format, and the fan in me really considered this and that is how we created this Legends League Cricket.
The thought was to deliver an analogous stature collectively and make them play aggressive cricket as a result of the followers need to see aggressive cricket and that’s the hook. I can not have the massive names come collectively and play enjoyable cricket. In any other case, they will lose curiosity, so it is all about competitiveness. It is all about combating for the win within the subject, each run is essential. So that is what we created. That has been the most important USP (distinctive promoting level) of ours. We have now come to India for the second time. We began the season, the franchise one, in 2022. In actual fact, Legends League Cricket began in January 2022 outdoors of India.
How has the league attracted legendary gamers?
The primary 12 months, it was a problem. We began in January 2022. This was in the midst of two Omicron spreads, the third wave of covid. It was very large, so we had points. We needed to push the gamers to return out of their houses and play a brand new league. So we confronted loads of resistance.
However when the gamers arrived in Oman, in Muscat, that is once they noticed that this was not an exhibition recreation, and the entire thing modified. Their mindset modified that it’s not about simply enjoyable. It’s about defending their legacy. The entire format modified from their ideas as an exhibition cricket to critical cricket, and it was an awesome begin.
(Photograph credit score: LLC)
These guys have large legacies to guard, legends, as we name them. They’ve an enormous legacy, taking part in for his or her nation or the golf equipment for a few years. So that they have quite a bit to guard and that’s one thing that we felt was the set off that no person wished to lose the legacy and the title that they’d earned for thus a few years, respect that they’d. So that they have been introduced into the sphere and so they have been all there to win. So it simply moved on from there.
And right this moment, the format has develop into such that now cricketers are selecting this as their second innings. So once they’re nearing retirement, they decide this up and begin taking part in LLC. And we’ve them doing the perfect on the sphere which, we really feel, has actually been the most important energy of us as a result of no person’s right here to lose. They’re all there to win and that brings competitiveness, and the aggressive spirit is available in from them.
So it has been an awesome journey from season 1 to now, our fourth season – two LLC Masters and two franchise based mostly LLC.
Are you able to share insights into the method of choosing gamers for the league and any standards they should meet?
Yeah, so one is, after all, you want to dwell as much as the legends standing. It’s a must to be retired. It is best to have performed a minimal of 25 home or 25 first-class video games to be featured within the franchise mannequin, which is the membership mannequin. However, within the Masters, it’s a must to play not less than 25 Worldwide matches. That’s when the LLC Masters occur.
And what occurs is actually now as a substitute of expertise scouts, I’ve my gamers changing into my ambassadors. So that they exit and speak about it to their friends and say, “Okay, this cricket is sweet”.
We had very powerful resistance in season one. We had solely 59 cricketers. At this time, my pool has 250+ gamers and plenty of extra coming in, so the gamers have good phrase of mouth.
Chris Gayle has gone and mentioned, “Okay, Bravo, you want to are available.” Bravo is saying, “Okay, Pollard, it’s a must to are available.”
It is a chain response that retains going. So that’s one thing that has labored very nicely for us as a result of we saved our cricket very clear. We saved it aggressive. It is fierce and all of the elements of worldwide cricket are there with us, whether or not it’s the anti-corruption unit or the match officers — every thing is what they’ve been doing for thus a few years.
