St Moritz Ice Cricket: All you need to know

Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne had turned the clock back when the legends of the game had faced off a few years ago in the United States of America. The fans are deprived of the tussle between India and Pakistan matches at the international level due to the political tension between the two countries. However, Shahid Afridi and Virender Sehwag have come together this time around to give them the taste of the rivalry once again as they lead their respective squads in Switzerland.

Sehwag and Afridi are, undoubtedly. two of the biggest entertainers in world cricket and ruled the stage when they were playing at the highest level. In an attempt to spread the game, they’ve arranged the unique two-day in snowy climes of the Swiss Alps and will play the cricket match on ice. It will be surely a treat for the fans as the matches will be played on the breath-taking backdrop of the Swiss mountains.

The likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis, Shoaib Akhtar, Zaheer Khan, Daniel Vettori among many others will be back on the field for a couple of days. The series, however, is a joint initiative of Vijay Singh, the CEO of VJ Sports and Akhilesh Bahuguna, the Director of All Spheres Pvt. Ltd. The inaugural edition of the event was announced in the presence of Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif in New Delhi in the recent past.

Here we bring you all the details you need to know about the event:

1. Teams

Two teams Diamonds XI and Royals XI will face off in Switzerland for the first time in what seems to be a unique concept of cricket match. While Virender Sehwag will lead the Diamonds, Afridi will captain Royals side in the couple of T20 matches.

2. When and where

Diamonds XI and Royals XI will play a couple of matches on February 8 and 9 in St Moritz Ice Cricket. The match will start on 4 PM IST and will go on until 8 PM IST.

3. Live streaming and coverage

The live broadcast of both the matches will be available on Sony ESPN and Sony Six (HD). It will also be streamed live on their application Sony LIV.

4. Full Squads

Both the squads have some legendary cricketers who once ruled the bowlers at their peak. As many as six Indians will feature including Virender Sehwag in the team which also consists of three Sri Lankans and a couple of Australians. While Shahid Afridi will lead a couple more cricketers from his country and players from South Africa, England and New Zealand.

Rohan Jain and Aidan Andrews are the two local players and will play for Diamonds Xi and Royals XI respectively.

Squads:

Virender Sehwag’s Diamonds XI squad: Virender Sehwag (India), Zaheer Khan (India), Mohammad Kaif (India), Ajit Agarkar (India), Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Tillakratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka), Michael Hussey (Australia), Andrew Symonds (Australia), Mithun Manhas (India), Ramesh Powar (India), Rohan Jain (Switzerland)

Shahid Afridi’s Royals XI squad: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan), Abdul Razzak (Pakistan), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Nathan McCullum (New Zealand), Grant Elliott (New Zealand), Monty Panesar (England), Owais Shah (England), Matt Prior (England), Aidan Andrews (Switzerland)