The India XI vs World XI may be a reality again. The Indian government has sent a proposal to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to host a cricket match between India and rest of the world on August 22, 2022, which will be a part of 75th anniversary of India's independence.
As per PTI source, the proposal has been sent by Ministry of Culture. They are in talks with BCCI officials to get star players from India and rest of the world to play the exhibition match which will be a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign.
"We have received a proposal from the government to organise a cricket match between India XI and World XI on August 22. For a 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 told PTI.
Overseas players’ availability a problem
The main challenge that BCCI will face is roping in English and West Indies players as English domestic cricket and Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be underway. The international players will also be compensated for their participation. Top BCCI officials are expected to speak to officials regarding availability of international players at the International Cricket Council (ICC) annual conference at Birmingham to be held from July 22-26.
Indian stars will be ready
However, the BCCI is confident of getting top starts from the Indian team for the event despite Zimbabwe tour ending on August 20 which will mean a lot of players will be unavailable.
All-format players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant will be available as they are not part of the squad for Zimbabwe. They will be preparing for Asia Cup 2022 which is scheduled to begin on August 27 in Sri Lanka.
Status and venue
For now, it is unclear whether it will be a T20I or friendly game. Also, Delhi's Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium is likely to host the event.
