In recent years, a number of T20 leagues featuring the yesteryear superstars like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brett Lee among others have emerged on the scene.
Amid the mushrooming leagues, the BCCI has also received a proposal to start its own tournament, including the legends.
According to a Dainik Jagran report, a few former Indian cricketers recently met the BCCI secretary Jay Shah and expressed their wish to conduct a tournament on the lines of the Indian Premier League.
“We have received a proposal from former cricketers in this regard. We are mulling over it,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by the daily.
The BCCI is yet to take any action on the suggestion. While it’s highly unlikely that such a tournament could start anytime soon, it surely can become a reality in 2025.
If the competition takes place, it will be comprised of players who have retired from international cricket as well as IPL. The teams will be based out of various cities from India.
Akin to the Indian Premier League, the proposal includes organising an auction in which the teams will bid for players.
Road Safety World Series, World Championship of Legends, Legends League Cricket are among the tournaments that feature retired players from different countries. However, all these events are being organised privately with no interference of any cricket board.
Although the World Championship of Legends, won by an Indian team captained by Yuvraj, was held in Birmingham earlier this year with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) giving its approval.
As of today, the BCCI administers two T20 leagues – the IPL and the Women’s Premier League that features top cricketers from different parts of the world.
IPL was founded in 2008 with eight teams and it currently has a total of 10 franchises. On the other hand, WPL was launched last year with five teams.