The second edition of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) will kick off at JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi on Saturday.

This will provide the sports lovers of the city with a chance to see some famous former international cricketers in action, the second such opportunity after witnessing the stickwork of many international women hockey players who participated in the matches of the Women’s Asian Hockey Champions Trophy that concluded here earlier this month.

Former international cricketers such as Chris Gayle, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Shane Watson and Aaron Finch, besides Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh will play for the six teams that will participate in the tournament to be played in Twenty20 format at five different venues across the country between November 18 and December 9.

The participating teams are Bhilwara Kings, Southern Super Stars, Gujarat Giants, India Capitals, UrbanisersHyderabad and Manipal Tigers.

The first five of the total 15 league phase matches of the tournament will be played at JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi from November 18-23 while the rest 10 are to be held in cities like Jammu, Dehradun and Visakhapatnam.

The knockout phase will, however, be played in Surat.

The opening match of the tournament will be played between India Capitals and Bhilwara Kings, led by Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan respectively, in Ranchi on Saturday evening.

There will be no match on Sunday while the rest four matches allotted to Ranchi will be played every evening during November 20-23.

The second match of the tournament on Monday will be played between Manipal Tigers and Gujarat Giants while Urbanisers Hyderabad and Southern Super Stars will face each other in the third encounter on Tuesday.

Bhilwara Kings will face Gujarat Giants on November 22 while the fifth and last match in Ranchi will be played between India Capitals and Urbanisers Hyderabad the next day (November 23).

“Many may not consider us as fit as the young players but we too work out a lot and try to give our hundred per cent during these matches,” Tilakaratne Dilshan, former captain of the Sri Lankan national cricket team, said at a Ranchi hotel when asked if the retired players participating in such tournaments could also live up to the expectations of the spectators.