Cricket on ice will be played on February 8th and 9th. (Source: Twitter) Cricket on ice will be played on February 8th and 9th. (Source: Twitter)

Cricket will get a unique twist when legends of the game will face each other but this time it will be in the Swiss Alps at the world famous and glamorous St. Moritz. Yes, that right come February 8 and 9th the world will witness the first Ice Cricket Challenge where stars, such as Virender Sehwag, Shoaib Akhtar, Lasith Malinga, Michael Hussey and many others adapt their styles and launch the cricket balls in the Swiss Alps when they play two T20 matches.

However, this is not the first time that cricket on ice has been played in the picturesque St. Moritz (Switzerland). The game has been played since 1988 on St. Moritz frozen lake. For those wondering how a cricket game is possible on the lake? The water body freezes into a thick layer of ice which is also covered by the soft falling snow. This is turn enables the lake to sustain more than 200 tons of weight. Not only can players play their game but a pavilion and grandstands can also be constructed on it.

Interestingly, the ‘cricket pitch’ consists of an artificial turf carpet laid out on the perfectly laid out snowfield. Players will use the traditional cricketing gear including the red-ball but will wear sports shoes instead of spikes. During the day, the weather is expected to be bright and sunny but the temperatures can dip to as low as – 20 degree Celsius at night.

Some of the greats apart from the names mentioned above who will be playing are – Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliot, Monty Panesar and Owais Shah. According to reports, star players will pocket a cool sum of $40,000-50,000 for the two encounters. The matches will begin at 3.30 PM IST and Sony ESPN and Sony Six HD will broadcast live coverage of matches in India.

I thought the Ice Bucket Challenge was tough, but what’s coming up this Thursday and Friday from Switzerland seems to be tougher. I am going to join dome of the biggest legends of the game for the #IceCricketChallenge in Switzerland. Do watch and support! pic.twitter.com/QLOdHzBt4O — Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) 5 February 2018

TEAMS –

Afridi’s XI

Team Royals

Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

Graeme Smith (South Africa)

Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)

Grant Elliott (New Zealand)

Nathan McCullum (New Zealand)

Owais Shah (England)

Monty Panesar (England)

Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Shoaib Akthar (Pakistan)

Abdul Razzaq (Pakistan)

Matt Prior (England)

Aidan Andrews (Switzerland)

Sehwag’s XI

Badrutt’s Palace Diamonds

Virender Sehwag (India)

Ajit Agarkar (India)

Michael Hussey (Australia)

Mohammad Kaif (India)

Zaheer Khan (India)

Andrew Symonds (Australia)

Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)

Rohan Jain (Switzerland)

Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)

Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Ramesh Powar (India)

Mithun Manhas (India)

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