Tendulkar to play in fund-raiser

Sachin Tendulkar: Will play despite medical advice © Getty Images

Steve Waugh has been named manager and coach of the ICC team that will play against an Asian XI to generate funds for the victims of the tragedy that hit South Asia recently.

The ICC team boasts stars like Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist, while Asia squad, which was announced on Tuesday, includes Sachin Tendulkar, who expressed an eagerness to play despite medical advice to rest his elbow, Shoaib Akhtar, and Sanath Jayasuriya. Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne are in the opposing squads.

Lara, however, may be missing from the ICC XI. The West Indians have two one-day matches against Australia A on the days immediately before the fundraising match, and of the 14-man squad in Australia for the VB Series, three have been named in the ICC squad, the other two being allrounder Dwayne Bravo and the opening batsman Chris Gayle. When asked about Lara specifically, Bennett King, West Indies' new coach, told the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph, "At this stage we are unsure of the people who will be there. With only leaving 11 players [in Hobart], if we get an injury or whatever, we still have a commitment to play Australia A. That was our first commitment."

The team is set to take on the Asian XI for two limited-overs matches, the first of which will be played in Melbourne on January 10.

ICC team (from) 1 Ricky Ponting (Aust), 2 Matthew Hayden (Aust), 3 Adam Gilchrist (Aust), 4 Stephen Fleming (NZ), 5 Brian Lara (WI), 6 Chris Gayle (WI), 7 Chris Cairns (NZ), 8 Shane Warne (Aust), 9 Glenn McGrath (Aust), 10 Dwayne Bravo (WI), 11 Darren Gough (Eng), 12 Daniel Vettori (NZ).
Coach/manager: Steve Waugh (Aust).

Asia team (from) Sourav Ganguly (Ind, capt), Sanath Jayasuriya (SL), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), Marvan Atapattu (SL), Rahul Dravid (Ind), Yousuf Youhana (Pak), Alok Kapali (Bang), Kumar Sangakkara (SL, wk), Chaminda Vaas (SL), Shoaib Akhtar (Pak), Anil Kumble (Ind), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) and Zaheer Khan (Ind).