Arguably the greatest cricketers of their respective arts, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne were a whisker away from playing together for the same team after the Indian maestro’s retirement in 2013. Eddie McGuire, the former president of the Melbourne Stars franchise, has revealed that he attempted to lure Tendulkar to Australia’s Big Bash League for a one-off game, just to pair him up with Warne. At a time when the Stars were struggling to secure player availability, McGuire came up with the blockbuster idea to put the legendary duo on the same side and pack out the stadium.
In a video shared by the Melbourne Stars, McGuire recalled that he wanted to bring Tendulkar on board for just one game, specifically to pair him up with the late great Warne for one final time.
“I was just thinking about the international angle because I was lobbying at times when they started taking all our players. Ridiculously, some were being picked up and not even playing. You’d have to go all the way to Tasmania, sit on the team bus, and then not get a game,” said McGuire.
“I said, ‘Well, if you’re going to take four of my batsmen or four of my bowlers, at least allow me to bring in one international player’. And I actually said at one stage, ‘If I can go and get Sachin Tendulkar, I’ll fill this ground five times over’,” he added.
While Tendulkar never reversed his retirement to play in the BBL, McGuire feels he came incredibly close to getting the Master Blaster on board.
“I said, ‘Just for one game, if we get him to come and play in the grand final. You’ve taken three or four of my best batsmen, so let me bring in one. Let me get Sachin Tendulkar as our batter and Warnie as our bowler, and let’s see how many people turn up. We’d have to put screens out in the park. It would be the biggest cricket match in Australian history, all in one night at a Big Bash T20 game,” revealed McGuire.
Two years later, Tendulkar and Warne eventually joined forces in 2015 for the Cricket All-Stars series, a high-profile exhibition tournament played across the United States to help promote and spread the game in America.
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