Sachin, Warne look to sign former stars for T20 league

Cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne are set to join hands for a Twenty20 league project that will rope in former stars and will be hosted in non-cricketing venues in the US.

 

Tendulkar and Warne have offered 28 ex-players contracts worth 25,000 US Dollars a match for the league planned in atleast three US cities starting September, according to a report in 'The Australian' newspaper.

The players have been approached to play 15 T20 matches over a three-and-a-half year period. The US cities believed to be on the tentative schedule are New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the report added.

Players believed to have been contacted by the All Stars include Australian greats Brett Lee, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath, former England captains Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff, and South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

The report also states that the players have been offered a one-page contract detailing a package that includes business class travel and a 10,000 USD sign-on fee.

The proposed league comes on top of plans by the Indian-based Essel Group to start a rival body to the International Cricket Council, which has reportedly discussed plans to pay current players Michael Clarke and David Warner 50 million USD over 10 years.