Hyderabad: Pakistan's former skipper Shahid Afridi made a sensational claim on Wednesday that organisers of the big franchise tournaments like GT20 Canada and Legends League Cricket T20 (LLCT20) owe payments to many players and have been unresponsive to requests.
Afridi also requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to look into the matter immediately. "I didn’t want to do this, but need to for the sake of my peers and the sport I love so dearly. It is tantamount and extremely integral for the organizing members of any event to keep their word in every situation. @GT20Canada & @llct20 owe payments to many of their players and have been non-responsive to the requests. @icc please look into the matter as it requires your urgent attention," Shahid Afridi wrote on 'X', formerly Twitter.
However, Afridi deleted the tweet soon after leading to speculations whether the claims he made were true. The 46-year-old has also played in the GT20 Canada for Toronto Nationals while the LLC is currently underway in India which also features former players including Kevin Pietersen, Chris Gayle, Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan. The Bombay Sports Limited (BSL) are the owners of the GT20 Canada tournament. The owner of the BSL is Gurmeet Singh, who also owns a hockey team in Canada.
The Global T20 Canada is a 20-over cricket tournament played in Canada. This tournament currently has six teams and each team features four local Canadian cricketers in each squad, along with international players. The inaugural tournament took place in 2019 and four seasons have been played so far. Many Indian cricketers were also part of this event including the likes of legendary bowler Harbhajan Singh and all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.
On the other hand, Absolute Legends Sports Pvt. Ltd. (ALSPL) is the owner and operator of Legends League Cricket. ALSPL is a Private incorporated on 28 July 2021 and classified as a Non-government company.
Legends League Cricket introduced its global format, LLC Masters in 2022. The three teams that compete in this format to showcase the best of talent are Indian Maharajas, Asia Lions, and World Giants. It has also presented the franchise-based edition of Legends League Cricket, which is held in India. Four privately owned teams compete in this exciting tournament: India Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Bhilwara Kings, and Manipal Tiger.
