Sachin’s Blasters to face Warne’s Warriors today in New York

NEW YORK (Web Desk)  -  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 today (Saturday), NDTV reported.

Tendulkar drew Lara as well as former Indian team mates 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.

Here is the full list which will give you an idea about who is playing in which team.

Sachin’s Blasters:

Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara, VVS Laxman, Mahela Jayawardene, Carl Hooper, Moin Khan, Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Swann, Shaun Pollock, Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath, Lance Klusener.

Warne’s Warriors:
Mathew Hayden, Michael Vaughan, Ricky Ponting, Jonty Rhodes, Jacques Kallis, Andrew Symonds, Kumar Sangakkara, Saqlain Mushtaq, Daniel Vettori, Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Ajit Agarkar.