Cricket – Former Stars Set to play on Ice at St Moritz

St Morits, Switzerland – A unique 2-day cricket event set against the backdrop of Swiss mountains is set to take place in Switzerland. The event includes two matches in 2 days. Lake St. Mortiz freezes into an extremely thick layer of ice which then gets covered by the soft falling snow, enabling the lake to withstand more than 200 tons of weight. So, Vijay Singh, CEO, VJ Sports saw this as an opportunity for some cricket near the alps. Two teams, Badrutt’s Palace DIAMONDS and ROYALS are set to take on each other.

The teams will feature former stars like:
Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Shoaib Akhtar, Michael Hussey, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliot, Monty Panesar, Owais Shah, Tilakratne Dilshan & Ajit Agarkar.

Traditional cricketing gear, including the red-ball will be used but players will don sports shoes instead of spikes.

Cricket – Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag to lock horns in ice cricket

St. Moritz – Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag, the two legends and once rivals, are all set to go face-to-face, and this time in ice cricket. According to the reports, the match would be taking place at the frozen lake in St. Moritz, Switzerland, which also has a beautiful background of the Swiss Alps. The tournament is scheduled to be played on the 8th and 9th of February.

While the sport was introduced in 1988, it would be the first time international cricketers like Sehwag and Shoaib Akhtar will be playing in the country. Both readily agreed to take part in the tournament. However, it’s not only Sehwag and Akhtar who are taking part in the tournament.

Few well known International cricketers like Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene, Michael Hussey, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliot, Mohammad Kaif, Monty Panesar and Owais Shah will be part of the tournament as well.

Former Indian opener Sehwag says that he never expected to play cricket on ice.

“I never thought playing cricket on ice was possible but now that it is happening, I wanted to experience it. It won’t be serious cricket but it would still be a challenge to play on ice. Five minutes to be honest. Cricket is not popular in Europe but with this initiative, we can make an impact. And playing on ice does sound very interesting,” said Sehwag.

“I was still playing First-Class cricket in 2015 so it was not very difficult to play those matches. Now since I have stopped playing the game completely, it will be a challenge to get into the groove. But there will be no pressure to win or lose. Also, now that I am retired I don’t need to take anyone’s permission including the BCCI,” he stated.