Sehwag confirms participation in Cricket All-Stars
His absence will prevent him from featuring for Haryana in what appears to be at least one Ranji Trophy game this season.
Published : Oct 27, 2015 18:40 IST
After announcing his retirement from international cricket last week, Virender Sehwag has confirmed his participation in the All Stars Cricket tournament to be held in USA. The event has been facilitated and promoted by two stalwarts of international cricket in the last two decades, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne.
Sehwag’s absence will prevent him from featuring for Haryana in what appears to be at least one Ranji Trophy game this season. The team will play its next match, against Assam, in Rohtak on November 7, on which day one of the All-Stars matches will be held. The next fixture for Haryana will be on November 15, against Odisha, at the same venue. It is unclear whether Sehwag will make it for this game, as the final All-Stars match will be held on the previous day.
Haryana Cricket Association has expressed it is fine with Sehwag missing one match, about which the opener had communicated, according to the secretary of the state unit, Anirudh Chaudhary.
“Every match he is part of this team is huge for this team,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo . “Every interaction with him benefits the players. We are looking at him mentoring the players and our objective is achieved by his presence around the squad. Once a player has announced his international retirement, anything he contributes at Ranji level we should gleefully accept.”
Besides Tendulkar and Warne, the event in the US is expected to feature V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Jacques Kallis, Mahela Jayawardene, Matthew Hayden, Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Wasim Akram, and a host of others prominent international cricketers.
Tendulkar welcomed Sehwag into the league with a message on Twitter: "Warm welcome to my friend & a batsman with his distinct style! @virendersehwag joins us at @T20AllStars #10DaystoGo."