3 Legends Cricket Trophy players who you didn't know were part of the IPL
The Legends Cricket Trophy is on the floor in Ghaziabad, with the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium playing host to the tournament.
With six teams featuring some of the game's most prominent yesteryear cricketers, the competition will be played in a single round-robin format before the top two teams contest the final.
From Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina to Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, some of India's cricketing giants are taking part in the tournament, which commenced on Wednesday, March 22.
The likes of Ross Taylor, Sanath Jayasuriya, Monty Panesar and Thisara Perera will also feature in the Legends Cricket Trophy, adding to the overseas star quotient.
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Having said that, there are a few players who were also part of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) once upon a time and are competing now in the Legends Cricket Trophy. We look at three such names below:
#1 Richard Levi (Nagpur Ninjas)
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Remember Richard Levi? Yup, the dashing South African opener who once held the record for the fastest men's T20I century when he butchered the New Zealand attack in Hamilton in 2012.
He was immediately signed by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for the IPL season that followed, with Andrew Symonds announcing his retirement from the game.
Levi made an instant impact, scoring a 35-ball 50 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on debut. But he never played in the league again after mustering just 33 runs in his next five outings.
Levi is playing for the Nagpur Ninjas in the Legends Cricket Trophy. Incidentally, he will play under Harbhajan Singh, who was also his captain when he made his IPL debut.
#2 Ali Murtaza (Vizag Titans)
Left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza was part of the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) before he was one of many players who was offered amnesty by the BCCI. That made him eligible for the IPL and MI signed him ahead of the 2010 season.
The Uttar Pradesh spinner debuted against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and returned expensive figures of 1/46 in a high-scoring encounter at the Brabourne Stadium.
Murtaza played 12 games in all in the IPL, with the last of those coming for the now-defunct Pune Warriors India (PWI) in 2013.
He is part of the Virender Sehwag-led Vizag Titans squad for the Legends Cricket Trophy.
#3 Ishan Malhotra
6, 6, 4, 4, 2, 1 - Welcome Ishan Malhotra to IPL. Sincerely Sehwag.
Pace-bowling all-rounder Ishan Malhotra was part of the now-defunct Deccan Chargers in IPL 2011.
He played a solitary game and it turned out to be a forgettable one for him when the Chargers played the Delhi Daredevils (as they were called back then) in the country's capital.
He came in to bat at the fall of the fifth wicket and remained unbeaten on seven. Defending 175, the Chargers ran into a rampaging Virender Sehwag, who carted them around the park. Malhotra sent down a lone over which cost him a mammoth 23 runs, post which he never played a game in the league.
Ironically, Sehwag is Malhotra's captain in the Legends Cricket Trophy, with the Srinagar-born all-rounder representing the Vizag Titans. He has also represented the Maratha Arabians in the Abu Dhabi T10.
Which player are you most looking forward to watching in the Legends Cricket Trophy? Let us know in the comments section below!
Also read: 3 reasons why Shreyas Iyer's absence will be a big blow to India's 2023 World Cup hopes