They are considered among the two greatest batsmen of all time and will now get a chance to bat together as captain Sachin Tendulkar drew Brian Lara's name along with 13 other players as part of the Sachin's Blasters squad against Shane Warne's Warne Warriors for the Cricket All-Stars Twenty20 series starting at Citi Field here on Saturday.
Tendulkar drew Lara as well as former Indian teammates V.V.S Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag during a draw on Thursday. Tendulkar also picked Australian pacer Glenn McGrath for his side in a bowling group that also includes Curtly Ambrose, Shaun Pollock, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shoaib Akhtar.
On the other hand, legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne selected some of his former Australian teammates to play for his side, including Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds. Warne also wound up with the dream pace trio of Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald and Wasim Akram.
"It was great to be in the same room with all of these amazing players today. We are all good friends off the pitch, but we are also fiercely competitive," Tendulkar said in a release on Thursday.
"It will be exciting to play on the same team as some of my former rivals, and of course, it will be great to face Shane again. What makes it even more special is that we will be playing in Major League Baseball Stadiums in America in front of new and existing fans," the 42-year-old said.
"These are some of the greatest players in recent cricket history. You can't go wrong with any of these guys on your team. Either way the draw went, I would consider that a fantasy team. Warne's Warriors will be ready for a great game on Saturday," Warne said.
The first match of the three-match series will be played on Saturday at Citi Field ground in New York.
The second match will be on Wednesday, November 11, at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
The final match in the series will be on Saturday, November 14, at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
The teams:
Sachin's Blasters: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), V.V.S 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 (captain), 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.
