Winners of the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals will take on Middlesex Panthers in a one-off Twenty20 match at Lord's for the British Asian Cup to be played on July 6.
Winners of the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals will take on Middlesex Panthers in a one-off Twenty20 match at Lord's for the British Asian Cup to be played on July 6.
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The match, to be organised by Marylebone Cricket Club, will be an annual feature and proceeds from it will go to the British Asian Trust, one of the Prince of Wales' charities.
Next year onwards organisers intend to make the contest between winners of the IPL and England's T20 into a best-of-three affair.
"This is yet another milestone in the international development of the IPL," IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said in a statement.
"We have shown this year that the IPL truly has global appeal, and for one of our teams to be playing at the 'home of cricket' in front of the wonderfully passionate British fans is very exciting.
"Moreover, we have a serious commitment to charity, and the association with the British Asian Trust is most welcome," he said.
Shaun Udal will lead Middlesex and will include players like Tyrone Henderson, Owais Shah and Murali Kartik all of whom are part of the IPL this season.
Royals, led by Shane Warne, is expected to have a full strength squad, including South Africans Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel, Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Akmal besides the explosive Yusuf Pathan.
This is expected to be Warne's last match at Lord's, the mecca of cricket.
"This is a great opportunity for the Rajasthan Royals to expand our fan base in the UK, and to showcase the great international talent in the team, and on a personal note, I am especially pleased that the British Asian Trust will be benefiting from the event," Royals co-owner Manoj Badale said.
Middlesex, who missed out on the opportunity to play in the Champions League following the Mumbai terror attacks last November, were happy with the development.
"After the disappointment of not being able to play the Champions League last year it is fantastic that the 2008 Twenty20 Champions of England and India can play such a match," Middlesex Chief Executive Vinny Codrington said.
"The fact that the game will benefit such a worthy charity is tremendous bonus," he said.
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