Mahesh Bhupathi Courts Cricket: A Second Innings with Legends League
On paper, the concept appears straightforward: assemble retired cricket stars who remain household names for action-packed T20 matches. However, numerous attempts at creating sustainable legends cricket leagues have faltered over time. Can the latest venture, spearheaded by former tennis champion Mahesh Bhupathi, break this pattern and establish a lasting presence?
Unusual Scenes in Football-Crazy Goa
The sight of young fans chanting "DJ Bravo! DJ Bravo!" in a sunny Goan sports stadium represents an unusual occurrence in a state traditionally obsessed with football. This enthusiasm becomes even more remarkable considering Dwayne 'DJ' Bravo, the legendary Trinidadian cricketer, retired from all professional cricket in 2024. Yet these were precisely the scenes witnessed at Verna's 1919 Sportz Cricket Stadium during the inaugural World Legends Pro T20 League.
The tournament featured retired international cricket luminaries including Bravo, New Zealand opener Martin Guptill, Australian batsman Shaun Marsh, South African fast bowler Dale Steyn, West Indies powerhouse Chris Gayle, alongside Indian stars such as Shikhar Dhawan, S. Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, and Dinesh Karthik.
The Business of Nostalgia
Similar to trends observed in the entertainment industries, cricket business ventures are increasingly testing nostalgia as a mechanism to attract audiences and build sustainable leagues outside the dominant Indian Premier League ecosystem. The World Legends Pro T20 League represents the latest such initiative, founded by SG Sports and Entertainment in 2022 with backing from industrial goods firm APL Apollo Group.
"In general, to do anything significant in the sports business, there has to be an element of cricket," explained Mahesh Bhupathi, former international tennis champion and CEO of SG Sports. "That is how money flows in India. A few have tried legends' leagues before, but not followed through with it after a couple of seasons."
Among previous attempts is the Legends League Cricket T20, founded by media executives Raman Raheja and Vivek Khushalani, which secured ₹39 crore in funding from a Dubai-based real estate company in 2024. After skipping a season last year, this league plans to return this March.
Assembling the Star Cast
Bhupathi identified convincing retired cricket legends to participate as the relatively easier aspect of launching the league. "There are more and more retired players who are keen to continue playing in this format," he noted. "The competitive juices never leave you as an athlete. We have tried to put together a very competitive league, and we have 90 players in the first season, which is a big win."
The World Legends Pro T20 currently features six team owners who have committed to 10-year contracts valued at ₹150 crore each. "We will restrict this to six teams until 2028," Bhupathi stated. "The first season is the toughest to get off the ground and we want to build this out for the next three-five years, make it one of the most successful leagues in the country."
The Nostalgia Factor and Strategic Choices
The inaugural season concluded last week in Goa with Shikhar Dhawan-led Dubai Royals defeating Kieran Pollard's Pune Panthers. The tournament was broadcast on Sony LIV and FanCode, with additional free streaming on YouTube as part of broadcast experimentation.
Goa was deliberately selected as the host location despite its stronger football tradition. "Fans in Goa don't get to watch cricket all the time, be it India games or the IPL, where crowds get to see these names," Bhupathi explained. "Also, Goa is a destination and has its own sex appeal." The Goa Tourism Development Corporation served as a leading sponsor for the event.
Goa's Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte confirmed the state's strategy to position itself as a sports tourism hub, hosting events ranging from Ironman races to world table tennis leagues and volleyball tournaments alongside the cricket legends league.
Sustainability Beyond Nostalgia
"Star athletes remain a key driver of fandom in sports, including team sports like cricket," observed Yannick Colaco, co-founder of sports streaming platform FanCode. "Technology has strengthened direct relationships between athletes and fans, and that connection often outlives a player's active career, which is why legends-based events continue to attract interest."
However, Colaco cautioned that nostalgia alone may prove insufficient for long-term success. "Fans may tune in because of a familiar name, but sustained engagement depends on the quality of the cricket," he emphasized. "For cricket, building durable legends leagues will require a focus on performance and story-line driven narratives, with promoters, broadcasters and sponsors working together to turn star power into sustainable properties."
Initial indicators suggest legends leagues can generate substantial attention despite India's crowded cricket calendar. The World Championship of Legends 2025 reportedly engaged 70 million fans online in India and over 400 million globally. This league, partially owned by actor Ajay Devgn, faced challenges last year when Indian players withdrew from matches against Pakistan citing political tensions.
In 2023, the Legends League Cricket became India's second-most watched T20 tournament on television. While Bhupathi hasn't disclosed specific viewership figures for his league, he expressed satisfaction with the inaugural season's outcome and reported growing sponsor interest.
"One thing we'll do next year is to make the process of selection a little more detailed and a little more wide," Bhupathi revealed. "There are a lot of quality cricket players who are keen to play, I think we're in a good place."
As the talent pool in both Indian and international cricket continues expanding, and more legendary players transition from active international careers, there appears to be sufficient star power to maintain cricket enthusiasts' interest in these nostalgia-driven competitions. The critical question remains whether business models can transform this interest into sustainable, long-term enterprises.
