India to get first taste of Twenty20

Twenty20 cricket is set to make a debut in India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore between August 19 and 21. The Unibic Twenty20 Bradman Cup, the result of collaboration between the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and Unibic, the event sponsor, will feature international stars such as Lance Klusener, Dean Jones, Adam Hollioake, Mohammad Sami, Russel Arnold and Javagal Srinath among others.

Six teams will take part in the competition and they will be split into two groups of three. The top teams from each group will contest the final. While teams such as Bradman World XI, New South Wales, KSCA XI, Bengal and Chemplast are confirmed participants, the sixth team will either be ONGC or Baroda.

"We have a great responsibility to foster the spirit of Bradman through this tournament," Michael Quinn, chairman of Unibic India and a former first-class player for Victoria, was quoted as saying in The Hindu. "This tournament reiterates our company's belief that it is essential to work with the community to foster success."

Brijesh Patel, the KSCA secretary, thanked Unibic for sponsoring the event and said that it was a privilege to host India's first Twenty20 tournament. "Twenty20 is here to stay. When one-day cricket was launched three decades back, people dismissed it as pyjama cricket," said Patel, "but it has done well and has become enormously popular and we are sure that given the time constraints that people face, Twenty20 cricket too will find great support. People can see three hours of cricket and it is like going out for dinner. We at the KSCA are proud to host the first Twenty20 tournament in India."

Bradman World XI
Adam Hollioake, Dean Jones, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Farveez Maharoof, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Javagal Srinath.