Cricket fans around the globe are eagerly waiting for the three-match series between Asia XI and World XI to be played in Bangladesh and India. Among the three matches, Bangladesh will host two, which are scheduled to be held on March 18 and 21 next year.
Saurav Ganguly, the newly-elected President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently said that India would host an exhibition game between Asia XI and World XI at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. The new stadium is built reportedly at the cost of INR 700 crores.
Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had sought permission from BCCI to allow seven of the top Indian players to play for the Asia XI team. The big names who have been called are MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravindra Jadeja.
The Asia XI will feature top cricketers from teams like Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
“Yes, Bangladesh is scheduled to host two T20 Internationals between Asia XI and Rest of the World. We are in touch with BCCI and other cricket boards of the Asian region to allow their players to be part of these two games,” BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said last month.
However, Indian cricketers are unlikely to visit Bangladesh as they will be playing the ODI series against South Africa. The three-match ODI series ends on March 18; on the same day the series between Asia XI and World XI starts.
