Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Muttiah Muralitharan to feature in new T20 tournament

Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, and Muttiah Muralitharan are set to feature in a new T20 tournament that will be aimed at promoting road safety, called the Road Safety World Series. The tournament is expected to be held between 2 February and 16 February next year, in Mumbai.

Tendulkar has had limited playing experience since his retirement. He played for the MCC against Rest of the World XI at Lord's in 2014, and also three exhibition T20s in the United States of America in 2015.

According to reports by ESPNcricinfo, a total of 110 retired players have confirmed their participation in the tournament, which will be based on the franchise model that is used in domestic T20 leagues all around the world. Only Test-playing countries will be forming teams for the first season of the tournament.

The following teams are scheduled to feature in the tournament - India Legends, Australia Legends, South Africa Legends, Sri Lanka Legends and West Indies Legends. Virender Sehwag, Brett Lee, Chaminda Vaas, Jonty Rhodes and Tillakaratne Dilshan are the other retired stars who are expected to participate in the tournament.

Virender Sehwag

The tournament will be hosted for 10 years across India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI, had given the tournament the green signal in August 2018 itself. The Professional Management Group and the Road Safety Cell of the Maharashtra government are among the organizers of this T20 tournament.

Tendulkar, as most Indians know, made his debut when he was only 16 and played against the likes of Waqar Younis in his very first series. He remains the only Test cricketer to have played 200 Tests, scoring 15921 runs in the process at a prolific average of 53.78.

In the limited-overs format, Tendulkar played 463 games, scoring 18426 runs at 44.83. He became the first player to reach the landmark of 200 runs in an ODI innings against South Africa.

Brian Lara

Brian Lara, meanwhile, remains the only Test cricketer to scale the 400-run mark in a single innings - a feat he achieved in the 2004 Test against England in Antigua.

These record-setting batsmen will play against the likes of Muralitharan, who ended his career with 800 Test wickets - the most by any bowler.