All you need to know about Ice Cricket 2018 tournament - The first of its kind!

In the recent years, the tournaments featuring the 1990s and 2000s legends have been a grand affair. The Cricket All-Stars, Masters Champions League (MCL) and more recently the T10 Cricket League in Sharjah have been widely watched by cricket fans all over the world.

Now, the cricket fans will get to see the likes of Virender Sehwag and Shahid Afridi lock horns against each other in Ice Cricket 2018. When the wood and leather will make contact with the freezing ice of St.Moritz, Switzerland the excitement of watching cricket on a whole new terrain will be unmatched!

Let us answer a few questions that you might be having now.

What is Ice Cricket 2018?

Ice Cricket 2018 is a couple of T20 matches that are going to be played in St.Moritz, Switzerland on February 8 and 9 featuring some cricket stars from the 2000s. It will be the first time when international superstars will be playing cricket on ice.

Which teams are going to play Ice Cricket 2018?

The two teams which will be featured in this tournament are named as ‘Team Royals’ and ‘Badrutt’s Palace Diamonds’. Their squads are as follows:

Team Royals: Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Daniel Vettori, Grant Elliott, Nathan McCullum, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Owais Shah, Monty Panesar, Matt Prior, Aiden Andrews

Badrutt’s Palace Diamonds: Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Micheal Hussey, Ramesh Powar, Andrew Symonds, Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mithun Manhas, Rohan Jain

What will be the playing conditions?

The wicket will be an artificial carpet. The outfield will just be a frozen layer of ice. The conditions are expected to be bright and sunny during the day while at night the temperature might hit a low of -20 degree Celsius.

At what time will the matches start?

The matches will start at 11:00 a.m. local time i.e. 3:30 p.m. IST.

Will Ice Cricket 2018 be telecast in India?

Yes. Ice Cricket 2018 will be telecasted on Sony Six HD and Sony ESPN on February 8 and 9 at 3:30 p.m. IST.

Is it for the first time that cricket is being played in Switzerland?

No. The origin of cricket in Switzerland can be traced back to 1988. However, Switzerland will be witnessing a tournament featuring such high-profile cricketers for the first time.

What are the reactions of the cricketers about this new venue?

Everyone in the tournament is excited about this brand new concept of cricket on ice. Mahela Jayawardene in an Instagram video and Mohammad Kaif in a tweet compared Ice Cricket Challenge with Ice Bucket Challenge and encouraged fans to support it.

Has cricket been played on a different terrain before?

This is not for the first time that cricket is being played on a different surface. The game was taken to the shores of Australia where cricket was played on the beach in the Beach Cricket Tri-Nation series.

The tournament saw three editions (2007, 2008 and 2009) with Australia locking horns against England, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa in various editions.