National cricket team captain Brendan Taylor will feature in a Cricket all-star Twenty20 (T20) match for a World XI team against an Asian XI team at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, on May 12.
The one-off T20 match is being organised by Zimbabwe-born Herb Choga, president of Kat Rose Inc which is promoting the event with Cricket Canada.
Zimbabwe Cricket committee chairman Alistair Campbells Dominus Sport has also been involved in luring some of the big names to the tournament. In an interview with NewsDay Sport yesterday, Campbell confirmed his involvement in the match and the signing of Taylor.
Yes, Brendan Taylor has been signed up for the cricket all-star T20 match which will pit a World XI team against an Asian XI team where he will play alongside Brian Lara.
The tournament has attracted some big names, both former and current players, and a number of Pakistan players are going to be involved as they are not part of the Indian Premier League, said Taylor.
Asked how he became involved in the organisation of the all-star match, Campbell said: Herb Choga, who is organising the tournament, was born in Zimbabwe.
He approached us for expertise since we have successfully organised our own Twenty20 tournament.
Choga recently told Share newspaper from Canada that the former Zimbabwe captain and selector Campbell was instrumental in securing foreign players for the match.
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He has a company that promotes Twenty20 cricket and he has a lot of contacts out there, said Choga.
We have decided to use his expertise to track down and gain the commitment of the players.
Organisers hope the all-star match which will feature a mixture of legends and up-and-comers will be a catalyst to move the sport into the Canadian psyche which is currently dominated by other sports like ice hockey, Lacrosse, Canadian football and basketball.
In the World XI team, Taylor, who has recently played in T20 tournaments in New Zealand and Bangladesh, will play alongside the legendary former West Indies batsman Lara who will captain the side.
South African wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher, Dwayne Smith and Tino Best (West Indies) and two Canadian stars, Rizwan Cheema and Ashish Bagai, will also take part in the match.
The Asia XI team will be captained by Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) and comprises of former greats such as Sanath Jayasuriya, Sunil Joshi (India), Pakistan left-arm spinner Saeed Ajmal, Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), and Mohammad Sami (Pakistan).
Mushtaq Mohammad, who played 57 Tests for Pakistan, will manage the Asian XI while Grant Flower, who appeared in 67 Tests and 221 One-Day internationals for Zimbabwe, will be in charge of the International XI.
