The Ministry of Culture has submitted a proposal to BCCI to hold a match between India and the Rest of the World as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
BCCI chairman Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah will travel to England on 24 July for the annual ICC conference and they will discuss the proposal with other panels on their player’s readiness.
The sources said that the Ministry of Culture, which submitted the proposal, is in talks with BCCI officials to try to entice top Indian players as well as famous cricketers from abroad to play the match. as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign.
BCCI sources said that at this point, the proposal is still under discussion as there are a lot of “operational and logistical factors” involved in procuring services by international companies.
“We have received a proposal from the government to hold a cricket match between India XI and World XI on August 22. For the rest of the world team we will need at least 13- The 14 international players and their readiness is something we need to check,” a source said.
During that time, he added, English domestic cricket will be underway and the Caribbean Premier League will also begin. BCCI is examining whether international players must be financially compensated for their participation.
As far as the services of international cricketers are concerned, top BCCI officials will be in Birmingham for the ICC’s annual conference (July 22-26), where they have can talk to other board officials to recommend a few of their players for the match in India.
Acquiring the top stars of the Indian team will not be a problem, sources said.
An away series against Zimbabwe, including three ODIs, ends on 20 August. Some players in this particular series may arrive only on 22 August and therefore, will not be available.
However, top players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, who will not be traveling to Zimbabwe, will be available before they set off for the Asian Cup which begins on August 27 in Sri Lanka.
BCCI sources say that all Indian players will be required and they are likely to join the squad for the match.
They added that Indian cricketers will need little convincing as it is an event organized under the auspices of the Indian government.
The cause of concern at the moment is to ensure that the quality of the World XI team is top-notch, they said.
Up to now, it is not clear whether the match will be international T20 or friendly.
Although it is yet to be confirmed, the match, if conducted, will most likely be held at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
The government’s Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign is an initiative to celebrate and celebrate the 75th anniversary of independence, with a focus on highlighting events and people, which despite being part of the struggle free but largely unknown and unheard of.
According to the calendar of events prepared by the Ministry of Culture, the celebration will include exhibitions on trains along with Indian Railways, titled “Azaadi Ki Rail Gadi Aur Stations”, and Kargil Vijay Divas on July, when a motorcycle trip organized by the Department of Defense will go to Tiger Hill.
In August, the birthday celebration of Pingalli Venkayya, who designed the national flag, will also be held. (PTI INPUT)
— END —
