Hong Kong, Oct 12
Former wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa will lead the star-studded Indian team in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2024. Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, Manoj Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bharat Chipli and Shreevats Goswami (wk) are the other squad members.
With a mix of talent in batting and bowling, India will aim for their second title in the tournament. India last won the HK Sixes during the 2005 edition. The tournament began in 1992 and was last held in 2017 before being revived this year.
The 20th edition of the tournament will be played between 12 teams at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground. Other participating teams include Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Hong Kong, Nepal, New Zealand, Oman, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The competition has previously witnessed various legends of the game like Brain Lara, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Sachin Tendulkar, M.S. Dhoni, and Anil Kumble featuring for their respective teams. England and South Africa are the most successful teams with five titles each.
The tournament’s format is unique as matches are played between two teams of six players. Each game consists of a maximum of five overs for each side. But the title clash will see each team bowl five overs comprising eight balls, up from the six deliveries in normal matches. Barring the wicket-keeper, every member of the fielding side will have to bowl one over, while wides and no-balls will count as two runs. Batsmen are forced to retire at 31 but can come back in once all other batsmen have been dismissed or have retired.