Cricket Icons Return To Action In Masters Champions League

The inaugural player auction for the Masters Champions League – a Twenty20 league for former cricketers -- was held in Dubai. Around 250 former cricketers were in contention for 90 available slots in six franchises.

All players were categorised based on their international appearances into four divisions – Icons, ‘A+’ players (more than 100 caps), ‘A’ players and Associate players, with base prices starting at $10,000. The tournament will be played in UAE next year.

“I am glad we managed to compose an excellent team by striking the right balance between batsmen and bowlers; a pre-requisite for the T20 format. At the end of the auction, Virgo Super Kings stood out among the favorites for the tournament,” said Arun Pandey, chairman of Rhiti Sports.

Rhiti Group is promoted by India’s ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The matches will take place at two venues; Dubai International Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

The players’ auction received huge interest following ICC’s official seal of approval. In its first edition, 6 teams will compete with each other over a span of eighteen days starting end of January 2016.

The Six Teams:

Gemini Arabians owned by Nalin Khaitan: Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kyle Mills, Saqlain Mushtaq, Jacques Rudolph, Naved-ul-Hasan, Justin Kemp, Paul Harris, Brad Hodge, Richard Levi, Ashish Bagai, Graham Onions, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Saqib Ali.

Libra Legends (Popcorn Sports and Entertainment Private Limited): Sourav Ganguly, Graeme Swann, Jacques Kallis, Brad Hogg, Ryan ten Doeschate, Ajay Ratra, Chris Read, Sean Ervine, Shaun Tait, Ryan Sidebottom, Michael Lumb, Marcus North, Taufeeq Umar, Nicky Boje, Ian Butler.

Sagittarius Soldiers (Ashfaq Sheikh of Orange Limited): Mahela Jayawardene, Daniel Vettori, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Bond, Khurram Khan, Phil Mustard, Tino Best, Nathan Hauritz, Alviro Petersen, Michael Carberry, Krishmar Santokie, Jonathan Trott, Yasir Hameed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Gavin Hamilton.

Virgo Super Kings (Rhiti Sports): Graeme Smith, Azhar Mahmood, Brett Lee, Jonty Rhodes, Neil McKenzie, John Mooney, Dirk Nannes, Owais Shah, James Foster, Murali Kartik, Malinga Bandara, Gareth Batty, Hasan Raza, Jacob Oram, Humayun Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf.

Capricorn Commanders (Sohail Khan): Michael Vaughan, Abdul Razzaq, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Symonds, Chamara Silva, Ashwell Prince, Upul Chandana, Ryan McLaren, Jeetan Patel, Rikki Clarke, Rory Kleinveldt, Ben Laughlin, Rizwan Cheema, Geraint Jones, Sunil Joshi, Saleem Elahi.

Leo Lions (Manyata Dutt): Heath Streak, Scott Styris, Brian Lara, Herschelle Gibbs, Brendan Taylor, James Franklin, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Fidel Edwards, Mohammad Tauqir, Neil Carter, Hamish Marshall, Kyle Jarvis, Ramesh Powar, Simon Jones, Darren Gough.