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Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan
Former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly will lead India Maharajas in an exhibition match against a World Giants team, which will be led by former England captain Eoin Morgan, on 16 September.
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 edition, which also commemorates India’s 75th year of independence.
Apart from Ganguly, the match is set to feature former India players such as Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel – all of whom played under Ganguly’s captaincy – among others.
Apart 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 ranks. Sanath Jayasuriya and Muthiah Muralitharan make up the Sri Lankan representation, 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. The Giants won the tournament following a high-scoring final against the Lions. The second season will feature four teams, and 15 matches in total.
India Maharajas: Sourav Ganguly (Captain), 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, R.P. Singh, Joginder Sharma, and Reetinder Singh Sodhi.
World Giants: Eoin Morgan (Captain), 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, and Denesh Ramdin (wk).