A rejoice for every cricket fan out there, some of the biggest names in the cricket world are set to make a comeback soon and for a very noble cause. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Brain Lara and Muttiah Muralitharan are among the big names set to feature in a T20 tournament called the ‘Unacademy Road Safety World Series’, aimed at promoting road safety. Some other prominent names that are set to be part of the tournament are Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Brad Hodge, Jonty Rhodes,Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Ajantha Mendis.
As per reports, a total of 110 retired players have confirmed their participation in the tournament that will be based on a franchise model present in the domestic T20 leagues all over the globe. The teams participating in the tournaments have been restricted only to the test playing countries for its first season. This tournament is also going to feature some other big names from India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Austrailia and South Africa.
As per the series schedule that was released recently, 11 matches will be played in the tournament. The first season of the tournament will feature the following teams: India Legends, Sri Lanka Legends, Australia Legends, South Africa Legends and West Indies Legends.
Matches
Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, are set to clash with each other in the opening game of the tournament, when India Legends take on the West Indies Legends on March 7 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai followed by India Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends on March 10 at DY Patil Stadium.
Out of the 11 matches in this tournament, 2 will be played at Wankhede Stadium, 4 at Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune, 4 in DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai and the final game will be played at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, owned by the Cricket Club of India.
Among the 4 matches, 2 of the matches that Pune will host will be Indian Legends vs South Africa Legends on March 14 and Indian Legends vs Australian Legends on March 20. Both Wankhede and DY Patil will host one match each featuring the host team.
The Reason
This series aims to create awareness about road safety. Among the organisers are the Professional Management Group and the Road Safety Cell of the Maharashtra Government.
Every year, more than 1.5-2 lakh people die on Indian roads due to vehicular accidents; one person dies every 4 minutes and 1,214 road accidents occur every day in the country. In the last five years, more than 65 lakh people were disabled completely. As cricket is the most followed sport in the country and cricketers are looked up to as idols, the Series aims to create awareness about road safety and change people’s mindset towards their behaviour on the roads.
Ravi Gaikwad, RTO Chief of Thane (Konkan Range), who is also a senior member of the Road Safety Cell of Maharashtra and Chairman of the Trust, Shant Bharat Surakshit Bharat, said: “There has been a lot of excitement towards this tournament and people were eagerly waiting for the schedule and the tickets. I am extremely glad for the fans and I am sure they will come in large numbers to cheer for the legends and also support this important cause of creating awareness towards road safety in the country. Road safety is a serious concern, one person dies every 4 minutes in India and we all should join hands to make our roads safe and save precious human lives.”
Karan Shroff, Vice President-Marketing, Unacademy, said, “The Road Safety World Series binds together a cause that we feel deeply for, and a sport that is most loved by our TG and their parents, on and off the platform. This partnership will help us permeate the message that we want to convey as a brand. It is indeed exciting to see all the buzz around the tournament, and Unacademy is truly elated to be at the heart of it.
The profit earned from the event will be used by the Road Safety Cell to promote road safety and also will be used to create awareness about the fact that India ranks the highest in terms of deaths caused on roads, although the players’ payments will be taken care of by the franchises. The organisers had received a positive nod from the BCCI in 2018 for this series, and part of the plan is to host this event for 10 years across India.
This marks the return of Sachin Tendulkar for the fourth time since his retirement in 2013, having played for MCC against Rest of the World XI at Lord’s in 2014, three exbition T20’s in USA in 2015, and recently a 1 over play against Australian women superstar cricketer Ellyse Perry. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag are the commisioner of the series and the games will start at 7pm.
Schedule
- Match 1: March 7, 2020: India Legends vs West Indies Legends at Wankhede (Mumbai)
- Match 2: March 8, 2020: Australia Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends at Wankhede (Mumbai)
- Match 3: March 10, 2020: India Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends at DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
- Match 4: March 11, 2020: West Indies Legends vs South Africa Legends at DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
- Match 5: March 13, 2020: South Africa Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends at DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
- Match 6: March 14, 2020: India Legends vs South Africa Legends at MCA Stadium (Pune)
- Match 7: March 16, 2020: Australia Legends vs West Indies Legends at MCA Stadium (Pune)
- Match 8: March 17, 2020: West Indies Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends at MCA Stadium (Pune)
- Match 9: March 19, 2020: Australia Legends vs South Africa Legends at DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
- Match 10: March 20, 2020: India Legends vs Australia Legends at MCA Stadium (Pune)
- Match 11: March 22, 2020: FINAL at Brabourne Stadium (CCI, Mumbai)
Where to watch
Viacom 18 is the official broadcaster of the series. Colors Cineplex will broadcast all the series with live streaming available at Viacom 18’s streaming service VOOT and Jio TV app.
