A league of retired cricketers? Sachin, Warne back new T20 league for former greats

Retired cricketers everywhere take heart. There might soon be a way for you to recapture the glory of your hey days, or at least some semblance of it. According to a report, cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne are set to launch a new T20 league for former international cricketers. [caption id=“attachment_2083837” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Sachin Tendulkar. Getty[/caption] The Australian says Warne and Tendulkar are offering almost 30 cricketers - all of whom are retired from internationals and most of whom have stopped playing the game altogether - contracts worth more than $30,000 per match to play in a ‘Cricket All Stars League’. The concept of a separate league for “retired” stars isn’t new. Tennis and golf both have their Champions tours, where fans can still can watch players like John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic or Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer. Both tours have a sizable number of followers, though nothing approaching the main ATP or PGA Tours. Players believed to have been contacted so far include Brett Lee, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath, along with Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff from England, and South African Jacques Kallis. “I can’t see anything wrong with it,” Brett Lee’s ageny Maxwell said. “It’s a group of retired blokes playing a game of cricket.” The newspaper also said if the Cricket All Stars League goes forward it could affect some domestic Twenty20 competitions such as Australia’s Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League, which include former international cricketers. Under the reported proposal, a series of matches will be held around the world over a three-and-a-half-year period, with the United States to host the first series in September. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago were cited as the leading contenders to host the matches in the United States. A chance to play cricket again, thousands of dollars per match and a chance to travel the world? Well who would say no to that.