Sachin Tendulkar to team up with Brian Lara for Cricket All-Stars
Two batting legends will get an opportunity to play along with each other as Brian Lara was drawn in “Sachin’s Blasters” 15-man squad for the Cricket All-Stars series that will begin on Saturday, reports ESPNCricinfo.
Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, two of the finest batsmen of their generation will take to the field in the opening game at Citi Field along with Indian batting legends Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman after a random draw was conducted on Thursday in Times Square.
The first 26 players were drawn by lots, whereas Shoaib Akhtar’s fate was decided by the flip of a coin. Shane Warne called heads, but the Pakistani pacer, who had earlier expressed his desire to play for Sachin’s team, got his wish as the coin came down as tails.
Akhtar will be joined by two of the top four wicket-takers in the history of Tests, in Glenn McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan, along with legendary West Indian pacer Curtly Ambrose and former England spinner Graeme Swann in the bowling department. Two of South Africa’s finest all-rounders Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener will also be part of “Sachin’s Blasters”.
While Tendulkar wound up with all of his former batting partners, Shane Warne got all but one of his former Australian teammates to play for his “Warne’s Warriors”. His team’s batting will be led by three of the top five run-getters in the history of test cricket as Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and Jacques Kallis will take to the pitch, along with big-hitters like Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.
Not only did Warne get the luck of the draw with the batting, but he also wound up with the fast bowling trio of his dreams, as Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald and Wasim Akram will lead the bowling line-up. While the spin department will have plenty of variety with Warne, Saqlain Mushtaq and Daniel Vettori providing a leg spin, off spin and left arm spinning option.
The first All-Stars match will be played on November 7 at Citi Field, the home of the NY Mets while the second and third T20 will take place at Houston and Los Angeles on November 11 and 14.
Sachin's Blasters: Sachin Tendulkar (c), VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, Carl Hooper, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Moin Khan, Graeme Swann, Glenn McGrath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shoaib Akhtar, Curtly Ambrose
Warne's Warriors: Shane Warne (c), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Michael Vaughan, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Andrew Symonds, Jonty Rhodes, Saqlain Mushtaq, Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald, Ajit Agarkar