Tendulkar and Warne make history at the world's largest stock exchange

Sachin Tendulkar (L) and Shane Warne (R) will be locking horns to promote cricket in the USA

Former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne made history by becoming the first cricketers to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ahead of the highly awaited Cricket All-Stars T20 series, as per a report on NDTV.

Tendulkar and Warne were accompanied by former players Matthew Hayden and Wasim Akram at the ringing of the opening bell at the largest stock exchange in the world. Tendulkar also had the company of his wife Anjali on the esteemed occasion.

All the former players are in New York for the first match of the three-match T20 series for retired cricketers. The first match of the series is scheduled to take place today at the Citi Field stadium in New York.

It is not the first time that a famous Indian personality is ringing either the opening bell or closing bell at the NYSE. Many politicians and businessmen have done it previously. However, since cricket is not a popular sport in the USA, it was a unique occasion when the cricketing legends rang the opening bell.

Aim of the T20 Series

Tendulkar spoke about the intentions in organising the three-match cricket series in a country like the USA. The main intention, according to the Indian batting maestro, is to give the game a wider audience and hence increase the number of countries that play cricket.

“The reason for picking up a cricket bat again after retirement is to globalise cricket. That is a dream and vision Warne and I have. One day we would like the American (cricket) team also to participate in the World Cup. It would be a great moment. All cricketers have also been endorsing for having cricket in the Olympics. This is the beginning,” he said.

The Two Teams

There are about 28 former legendary cricketers who have signed for the tournament. The two teams are being led by former cricket rivals Tendulkar and Warne.

The official draw for the tournament took place on Thursday with Tendulkar's team having players such as Brian Lara, Curtly Ambrose, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Pollock, Shoaib Akhtar, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman and Virender Sehwag.

Former Australian spinner Warne's team includes Allan Donald, Andrew Symonds, Courtney Walsh, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Wasim Akram. The deadly pace trio of Akram, Donald and Walsh will be something that cricket fans will be eagerly looking forward to.

All matches are being held at baseball stadiums, and hence will employ drop-in pitches. The first match is scheduled to start in New York at 1 pm local time (11:30 pm IST).

The remaining two matches are to be held at the Minute Maid Park in Houston on November 11 and at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on November 14. Experienced umpires Simon Taufel, Steve Davis and Marais Erasmus have been chosen to officiate the three games between themselves.