The Ministry of Culture has proposed to the BCCI to host a match between India and the Rest of the World as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign to celebrate the 75 years of India’s independence. However, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah will be in England by 24th July for the annual ICC conference and they will discuss this with other boards as well to discuss their player’s availability.
Meanwhile, the sources have also indicated that the Ministry of Culture, which sent the proposal, is in talks with BCCI officials to try and rope in some of the top Indian players as well as popular cricketers from abroad to play the match as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign as well. Notably, BCCI sources have also said that at this point in time, the proposal is still being discussed as there are a lot of “operational and logistical elements” associated with this as well.
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“We have received a proposal from the government to organise a cricket match between India XI and World XI on August 22. For the rest of the world squad, we would need at least 13-14 international players and their availability is something that we need to check on,” a source said.
He also added during that time, England’s domestic cricket would be underway and the Caribbean Premier League would also start as well. The BCCI is also checking if international players will have to be compensated financially for their participation in the game. And, getting the top stars of the Indian team won’t be a problem, the sources further said. However, India’s away series against Zimbabwe, comprising three ODIs, ends on August 20 and some of the players might arrive only on August 22 and hence, they would be unavailable.
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However, top players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, who are not going to the Zimbabwe tour, will be available before they leave for the Asia Cup which will start on August 27 in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, BCCI sources stated that all Indian players will be requested for the match and they are likely to join the squad for the match, although it is not decided yet whether the match will have the status of an international T20 or a friendly game as well.
