The two greatest batsmen of their generation will now get a chance to bat together as captainSachin Tendulkar drew Brian Lara’s name along with 13 other players as part of the “Sachin’s Blasters” squad for the Cricket All-Stars series beginning at Citi Field on Saturday.
In a random draw conducted Thursday in Times Square, Tendulkar drew Lara as well as former Indian teammates VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. Tendulkar also no longer has to spar with Glenn McGrath, having picked the Australian pacer for his side in a bowling group that also includes Curtly Ambrose, Shaun Pollock and Muttiah Muralitharan.
While the luck of the draw meant that Tendulkar wound up with his Indian batting brethren, Shane Warne wound up drawing a slew of his former Australian teammates to play for “Warne’s Warriors” including Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds. Warne also wound up with a dream fast bowling trio of Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald and Wasim Akram.
While the first 26 players were drawn by lots, Shoaib Akhtar’s status was decided by a coin flip. Warne called heads, but the coin came up tails, drawing a big sigh of relief from Tendulkar. The first All-Stars match begins on November 7 at Citi Field in New York with two more in 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
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