The much-anticipated All-Star T20 Series is going to start from 7 November in New York City. The expectations have been rising ever since two former legends of cricket came up with the idea of the series.
The All-Star T20 series is the brainchild of Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, and the moment International Cricket Council (ICC) gave a green signal, the two stalwarts started roping in former star cricketers from across the world.
The mercury has been on the rise around the series as the participants are big. The All-Star T20 Series will showcase 26 former international cricketers in three T20 matches played across three venues in a span of seven days. Some of the names are: Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock, Alan Donald, Jonty Rhodes, Saqlain Mushtaq, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose, Daniel Vettori and of course the two captains, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne.
One might have seen these players representing their countries, but would have never ever imagined them coming together to play in the same team to entertain people in the United States.
So far, fans are aware of the fact that there are two teams — Sachin's Blasters and Warne's Warriors. But the squads have not been announced and fans will have to wait for some more time as the line-up will be declared on Thursday night itself.
Meanwhile, here are five reasons to be excited about the All-Star T20 Series:
1. Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne — 'Clash of the Titans': The two former legendary cricketers will resume their rivalry when they walk out in Citi Field in New York on 7 November, Saturday. Be it 1992 or 1998 or 2006 or later, their clashes have been seen in some of the most breathtaking matches in the past. Fans cannot wait to see these two taking each other on again.
2. The evergreen opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly: Flashbacks will f;y thick and fast when these two walk out to bat together in Citi Field. The sarcastic banter between Tendulkar and Ganguly in social media has already drawn the fan's attention, and going by their exchange, it seems viewers will get to see these two open the innings for Sachin's Blasters on Saturday.
3. Wasim Akram, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose and Shoaib Akhtar — the pace attack cannot get any better! The names have spoken volumes already. We do not have to highlight their cricketing statistics. At this moment, all we can do is wait for them to take the field on Saturday.
4. Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Daniel Vettori and Graeme Swann - the ball is going to turn a mile! One will bowl a googly while the second will hurl a doosra. The battle of the tweakers will also be one of the things one can be excited about, as in the past these spinners have successfully troubled the best batsmen in the world.
And Last, but not the least:
5. A walk down memory lane: We may have grown up watching these superstars, and admired them to the core. Some have followed them to the extent that they ended up making cricket their career. But we do not get to see these shining stars on the field anymore as they have retired from the international game. Leave all your sorrows and grief aside and bear witness to a field full of cricketing superstars from Saturday in the All Star T20 series. And rest assured, they are surely going to take us for a ride on the time machine!
