India’s carrom-baller, spin wizard Ashwin bids adieu to international cricket
India's decorated off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced his decision to retire from international cricket moments after the Brisbane Test ended in a draw.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is just around the corner and fans of the biggest and richest cricketing league in the world just can’t keep calm. The tournament begins on 29 March and the opening match is expected to be a blockbuster itself with the defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the Chennai Super Kings led by MS Dhoni.
However, even before the much-anticipated encounter, fans will enjoy an All- Stars cricket match between two teams comprising of the top stars featuring in the Indian Premier League.
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The fact that there would be an All-Stars match prior to the beginning of the IPL was announced by the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly way back in January. He had even given clarity that it would be an annual affair. In a recent update on the same, the date and venue of the much-anticipated clash has been confirmed.
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Reports carried by Times Now confirm that the contest will happen on 25 March, Wednesday. Although it is being reported that the two teams would be selected on the basis of North, East and South, West regions, there is no clarity concerning the same.
If these reports turn out to be true, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, David Warner and MS Dhoni could all end up playing for the same team.
However, a few key players may not be able to feature in this match as several teams including England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand would be busy as per their international cricketing schedule. In fact, a separate set of reports claim that many players would only be available since April.
Before the IPL, a few Indian cricketers would also be flying to Bangladesh for a couple of matches between Asia XI and World XI. Both these matches are scheduled to be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on 18 and 21 March.
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