The game of cricket will witness a unique twist when legends of the game will face each other but this time it will be in the Swiss boundaries at the world famous and glamorous St. Moritz. Cricket will be played on eth thick layer of ice.
Yes, that right, upcoming February 8 and 9th the world will witness the first Ice Cricket Challenge where stalwarts like Virender Sehwag, Shoaib Akhtar, Lasith Malinga, Michael Hussey and many others adapt their styles and launch the cricket balls in the Swiss Alps when they play two T20 matches.
As a child my favourite Cricket battle was @virendersehwag and Shoaib Akhtar. Can’t wait to watch this battle this time on Ice on Feb 8th and 9th. Height of Excitement and entertainment #IceCricketChallenge 🏏 pic.twitter.com/0nCfrbCLM8
— Ina – Quotes wali (@D_D_great) February 5, 2018
However, this is not the first time that cricket on the ice has been played in the scenic St. Moritz (Switzerland). The game has been played since 1988 on St. Moritz frozen lake. Most of the people will wonder that how a cricket game is possible on the lake. The answer to that lies in the fact that a lake freezes into a thick layer of ice which is also covered by the soft falling snow. This, in turn, enables the lake to sustain more than 200 tons of weight. Not only can players play their game but a pavilion and grandstands can also be constructed on it.
Interestingly, the ‘cricket pitch’ consists of an artificial grass carpet laid out on the perfectly laid out snowfield. Players will use the traditional cricketing gear including the red-ball but will wear sports shoes instead of spikes. During the day, weather is expected to be bright and sunny but the temperatures can dip to as low as – 20 degree Celsius at night.
Baba re Baba, with so much cold , guaranteed #AbJamegiKulfi .
I will be there, Akhtar bhi hoga, Malinga bhi ,Kallis bhi, Symonds bhi, Mahela bhi, kai dhurandar bhi honge aur unlimited thand and excitement bhi ,Feb 8th & 9th in Switzerland. Dekhiye zaroor! pic.twitter.com/CoklbdzOHF— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 2, 2018
Some of the stalwarts apart from the names mentioned above who will be playing are – Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliot, Monty Panesar and Owais Shah. According to reports, star cricketers will receive a whopping money of $40,000-50,000 for the two encounters. The matches will begin at 3.30 PM IST and Sony ESPN and Sony Six HD will broadcast live coverage of matches in India.
TEAMS
Afridi’s XI: Team Royals – Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Grant Elliott (New Zealand), Nathan McCullum (New Zealand), Owais Shah (England), Monty Panesar (England), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan), Abdul Razzaq (Pakistan), Matt Prior (England), Aidan Andrews (Switzerland).
Sehwag’s XI: Badrutt’s Palace Diamonds – Virender Sehwag (India), Ajit Agarkar (India), Michael Hussey (Australia), Mohammad Kaif (India), Zaheer Khan (India), Andrew Symonds (Australia), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Rohan Jain (Switzerland), Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Ramesh Powar (India), Mithun Manhas (India).
A new place always has an excitement but this is as cool as it gets. Excited to be a part of Cricket on Ice in St. Moritz ,Switzerland . You can catch the live action on Sony Espn 330 pm onwards on Feb 8th and Feb 9th. But hum players ki toh #AbJamegiKulfi pic.twitter.com/fjMjh0wGrM
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 2, 2018
