Ganguly and Morgan to captain star-studded teams in Legends League curtain-raiser

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 September 16.

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.

"This is a proud moment for us that we are celebrating the 75th year of our independence," Ravi Shastri, the LLC commissioner, said in a statement. "As a proud Indian, it gives me immense satisfaction to share that we have decided to dedicate this year's league to the 75th year of Independence celebration."

Ganguly apart, 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.

The Maharajas squad also includes S Sreesanth, the former India fast bowler who announced his retirement from domestic cricket earlier this year after making a brief return to top-flight cricket following the lifting of his seven-year ban relating to the IPL spot-fixing case

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 Muralidaran 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. Giants won the tournament following a high-scoring final against Lions.

The second season will feature four teams, and 15 matches in total.

India Maharajas: Sourav Ganguly (capt), 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, RP Singh, Joginder Sharma, Reetinder Singh Sodhi

World Giants: Eoin Morgan (capt), 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, Denesh Ramdin (wk)