Jammu, Oct 23: Finally the wait is over for the people of Jammu and Kashmir as the schedule for the Legends League Cricket is out and Jammu—the ‘City of Temples’ will be hosting four matches out of total 19 at Maulana Azad Stadium here.
As per the official details, Jammu to witness clash between former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh led Manipal Tigers and Aaron Finch led Southern Superstars on November 27.
“In an upbeat mood, Jammu is set to feel the heat in cold nights of November and witness their dream players in action on ground at Maulana Azad Stadium from November 27,” said an official.
He revealed that the former international players like Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina and Chris Gayle will be seen playing in the city in Legends League Cricket.
Nearly after more than three decades, the people of Jammu will be witnessing the stalwart cricketers live on field, which is scheduled to be played across five cities in India including Jammu.
The last international match played at the venue was held on December 19, 1988 between India vs New Zealand.
“The first match in Jammu will be played on November 27 (Manipal Tigers v/s Southern Super Stars), second match to be played on November 29 (Bhilwara Kings v/s Southern Superstars), third match to be played November 30 (India Capitals v/s Gujarat Giants) and fourth match to be played on December 1 (Bhilwara Kings v/s Urbanrisers Hyderabad) while the tickets will be available very soon online,” said an official.
The 22-day long Legends League is to be played from November 18 to December 9 in which six teams will contest for the title.
Harbhajan Singh led Manipal Tigers and Aaron Finch captained Southern Superstars, cricketers like Mohammad Kaif, Abdul Razzaq, Robin Uthappa and other famous players will be seen playing on field under flood light matches to start from 7 pm.
In the second match on November 29, Bhilwara Kings captained by Irfan Pathan and Southern Super Stars players Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson, Tillakaratne Dilshan will be playing, on November 30, Gautam Gambhir led India Capitals will face Parthiv Patel led Gujarat Giants and will see stalwarts like Chris Gayle, S Sreesanth, Hashim Amla, Kevin Pietersen, Munaf Patel and Abhimantyu Mithun.
In Jammu, the last match is to be played on December 1 at 3 pm between Irfan Pathan’s Bhilwara Kings and Suresh Raina’s Urban Risers Hyderabad.
Famous players like Martin Guptill, Dwayne Smith, Morne Morkel, Stuart Binny, Asghar Afghan will also be seen playing.
On October 17, former cricketer, Nikhil Chopra along with the Delhi Cricket Association’s pitch curator, Ankit Dutta inspected the arrangements at Maulana Azad Stadium for the Legends League Cricket.
The J&K Sports Council held a preliminary discussion with the visiting organizing committee team of Legends Cricket League headed by Chopra.
“The checklist for smooth conduct of the event is being prepared,” Nuzhat Gull, Secretary J&K Sports Council said.
“If all goes well, M A Stadium may become a regular feature for international and national cricket events in future,” said the Secretary.
Located along the banks of the Tawi River, Maulana Azad Stadium, established in 1966 has a seating capacity of 20,000.
