One can take champions out of
cricket but one cannot take cricket out of champions. This seems to be true in
case of Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne who are all set to renew their rivalry
in the Cricket All Stars series that starts in New York.
Right from Sydney in January 1992,
when Warne made his Test debut in the third match of the series in which Tendulkar
smashed an unbeaten 148, to the numerous T20 Matches in the Indian Premier
League, the two greatest cricketers of the past two decades have fought
enduring battles on the pitch which have become part of cricket folklore.
The draw for the teams was
conducted at the Times Square garden in New York and 27 players were assigned
randomly to Sachin Blasters and Warne Warriors. The two greatest batsman of
their generation Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, were drawn on the same team.
Australian big hitters like Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, and Andrew Symonds
ended up with Warne. Sachin Blasters will also have swashbuckling Virender
Sehwag, the wristy VVS Laxman, and the enigmatic Saurav Ganguly.
It will be surely be a sight for
the eyes when these batsmen take guard against a bowling attack comprising
Warne, Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald and Wasim Akram. Tendulkar bowling attack
will have Muttiah Muralitharan and great pacers Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath,
Shaun Pollock and Shoaib Akhtar. Apart from these legends Blasters will also
have Mahela Jayawardene, Carl Hooper, Lance Klusener, Moin Khan, and Graeme
Swann.
Michael Vaughan, Jacques Kallis,
Kumar Sangakkara, Jonty Rhodes, Saqlain Mushtaq, Daniel Vettori and Ajit
Agarkar complete the team of warriors. These ICC sanctioned matches will be
played on drop in pitches at major baseball fields in New York, Houston, and
Los Angeles.
