Government requests BCCI for India v World XI match for Independence Day celebrations- Report

The match will be part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign, celebrating 75 years of India's independence.

The Indian government has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to organize a cricket match on August 22 between India and the rest of the world team as a part of the celebration marking the 75^th anniversary of India’s independence, PTI reported.

The sources indicated that the Ministry of Culture, which sent the proposal, is in talks with BCCI officials to try and rope in top Indian players as well as popular cricketers from abroad to play the match as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign.

The government's Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign is an initiative to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence, with a focus on highlighting events and people, despite being part of the freedom struggle have been left largely unknown and unheard.

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The sources said the cricket match under the campaign would showcase the importance of sports and pay homage to the popularity of cricket in India.

BCCI sources have said that the proposal is still being discussed given the “operational and logistical elements” associated with procuring the services of international players.

"We have received a proposal from the government to organize a cricket match between India XI and World XI on August 22. For the rest of the world squad, we would need at least 13-14 international players and their availability is something that we need to check on,” a source said.

He added during that time, English domestic cricket would be underway and the Caribbean Premier League would also begin. He also pointed out that BCCI is looking into the issue of whether international players would have to be compensated financially for their participation.

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As far as services of international cricketers are concerned, top BCCI officials will be in Birmingham for the ICC annual conference (July 22-26), where they might speak to officials of other boards to release a few of their players for the match in India.

Getting top stars of the Indian team won't be a problem, the sources said. BCCI sources stated that all Indian players will be requested and they are likely to join the squad for the match.

Top stars like Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and others are most likely to be available before they leave for Asia Cup starting August 27 in Sri Lanka.

The cause of concern at this time is to ensure that the quality of the World XI team is top-notch, they said. While it is yet to be confirmed, the match, if conducted, is likely to be held at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

(PTI inputs)