Shoaib Akhtar, Sanath Jayasuriya to play for Asia Lions in Legends Cricket League

Legends Cricket League is a tournament scheduled to be played in Oman in January. The tournament will have ex-cricketers from Pakistan, India, England, Sri Lanka, Australia, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan divided into three teams: India, Asia, and the rest of the world. The matches will be played at the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium in Oman.

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Ravi Shastri, former Indian coach, has joined the league as the commissioner. He was appointed to this position after his tenure with the Indian team ended after the 20-20 World Cup 2021. Shastri called this tournament an opportunity to promote cricket in new destinations. He was hopeful that the tournament would start a new journey ahead.

It will be the first time that legends from the past will play in Oman. Oman hosted a few matches during the 20-20 World Cup 2021 along with Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi. The tournament will be once in a lifetime opportunity for cricket fans in Oman to see the legends play against each other one more time.

On December 23, it was confirmed by Raman Raheja, CEO of Legends Cricket League, that former legends like Sanath Jayasuriya and Sohaib Akhtar have also joined the tournament. They would be siding up with the Asia Lions team, which already had players like Shahid Afridi, Muttiah Muralitharan, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chaminda Vass, Azhar Mahmood, Upul Tharanga, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Yousuf, Mohammed Hafeez, Umar Gul, Asghar Afghan, and Younis Khan.

Shastri has huge trust in this tournament and feels the tournament is likely to produce some great cricketing contests. "This is top quality exciting cricket in offer. The Lions of Asia from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Afghanistan coming together in one team will definitely give the other two teams a run for their money,” Shastri said.