Fire meets ice: Shoaib Akhtar, Sehwag to resume rivalry in Switzerland

Legendary cricketers and even fiercer rivals, Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag will reignite memories of the days gone by when they meet once again for a game of cricket in the frozen Swiss Alps.

The much-awaited showdown between the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ and the batting great will take place on a frozen lake in the resort town of St. Moritz, Switzerland, with the spectacular Swiss Alps in the backdrop.

Two Twenty20 exhibition matches are set to be played on February 8 and 9 next year, starring, alongside Akhtar and Sehwag, stars such as Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Michael Hussey, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliott, Mohammad Kaif, Monty Panesar and Owais Shah.

“I never thought playing cricket on ice was possible but now that it is happening, I wanted to experience it. It won’t be serious cricket but it would still be a challenge to play on ice,” Sehwag, who was present at the launch event, was quoted in Indian media.

Sehwag, aka ‘Viru’, has quite a few exhibition matches to his name. He played in the MCL in Dubai in 2016 and was also part of Cricket All Stars, which was played in the USA two years ago.

Players will use the traditional cricketing gear including the red ball, but will wear sports shoes instead of spikes. The Swiss weather is expected to be sunny during the day, but temperatures can dip to as low as -20 degree Celsius.

The matches will be played on matting pitch.