By Andrew Wu
Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar will join forces with Ricky Ponting in a major boost for Cricket Australia's bushfire appeal match.
But the Indian superstar will not be making a playing comeback. Instead, he is set to coach the Ponting XI in next month's game.
Sachin Tendulkar is set to coach in the charity fundraiser.Credit: Getty Images
CA have also secured the services of the West Indies' champion former speedster Courtney Walsh, who is coaching the Warne XI.
Tendulkar, Test cricket's leading run-scorer, is arguably the biggest name involved in the game, which is being staged to raise money for the Australian Red Cross' Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
Ponting and Shane Warne had both publicly targeted Tendulkar and former West Indies champion Brian Lara for a return to Australia when the game was confirmed just over a week ago.
"We are absolutely honoured to be welcoming Sachin and Courtney back to Australia where they both enjoyed a lot of success as players, and we can't wait to have them involved in what is going to be a special day," CA chief executive Kevin Roberts said.
"Both in the ICC Hall of Fame, Sachin is the greatest run-scorer of all time in international cricket, and we all remember what Courtney could do with the ball, taking more than 500 Test wickets.
"We're looking forward to our people at CA and the entire Australian cricket family coming together for the Big Appeal."
Walsh, part of the Windies' battalion of feared quicks in the 1980s and 90s, is sixth on Test cricket's all time wicket-takers' list with 519 victims at 24.
Former great Adam Gilchrist, national men's coach Justin Langer and former captain Michael Clarke are among the confirmed starters for one of the curtain-raisers to the Big Bash League final on February 8.
Also playing are Brett Lee, Shane Watson and Alex Blackwell, while Steve Waugh and former star and now CA board member Mel Jones are involved in a non-playing capacity.
CA have been working hard to overcome the logistical issues involved with organising such a big event on just a few weeks' notice.
Not having a fixed venue for the BBL final has also added to the difficulty of the task. The venue will not be determined until Friday week when the MCG-based Melbourne Stars host a yet to be determined opponent in the qualifier for the right to host the final.
The charity game is the middle leg of a triple-header which will be kicked off by a Twenty20 women's international between Australia and India.