Devoid of some top stars, the second edition of Afro-Asia Cup series is all set to begin in Bangalore on Tuesday even as weather gods pose a major threat to the battle of continents.
The series has already lost some gloss with star cricketers like home icons Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sri Lankan aces Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan of the Asian squad opting out of the tournament.
The women's Twenty20 match on Tuesday will mark the opening of the tournament while the men's clash, to be played under lights, will follow next at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
This will be the first time that international Twenty20 matches will be held on Indian soil.
But uncertainty prevails over the two matches with the met office forecasting thunder showers for Monday after a heavy spell of rains on Sunday night.
The two matches would be followed by the first ODI between the two continents on Wednesday before the scene of action shifts to Chennai for the last two ODIs to complete the series.
The withdrawal of top players is a big setback for the tournament even before it could start.
While Asia have been hit hard with the pull-outs, Africa too are set to miss the services of Graeme Smith and top all-rounders Jacques Kallis and Andrew Hall. Besides, veteran South African Shaun Pollock has decided to play only as a batsman in the series.
However, the home fans will be encouraged by the presence of vastly experienced campaigners like Sourav Ganguly and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the Mahela Jayawardene-led team should throw some tough challenge at the Africans in the ODI series that concludes on June 10.
There is only one Indian player, pacer S Sreesanth, has been included in the Asia Twenty20 team led by newly-appointed Pakistan captain and all-rounder Shoaib Malik, whose leadership skills would be tested as he would have to shepherd players of four sub-continental teams to play as a unit.
The squad is a youthful one with a lot of utility cricketers in it in keeping with the fast forward mode of this latest format of the game.
The fans would be keen to see fireworks from the likes of young Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal, his compatriot Mohammed Ashraful and Pakistan's dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi.
Besides, the team has a good sprinkling of all-rounders, led by their captain Malik and his compatriot Abdur Razzak, Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and Farveez Maharoof and Bangladesh's Mashrafe Mortaza.
The African squad for the Twenty20 tie is largely made up of little-known players who are rookies at the international level and could find it difficult to cope up with the conditions and opposition.
The International Cricket Council has posted umpires only for the three one-dayers while the Twenty20 ties would be officiated by umpires affiliated to the hosts, Karnataka Cricket Association.
In the first edition of the tournament in South Africa, the ODI series was drawn 1-1 with one match rained-off.
Teams for men's Twenty20 match:
Asia: Shoaib Malik (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Ashraful, Tilakaratne Dilshan, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Abdur Razzak, Farveez Maharoof, Mashrafe Mortaza and S Sreesanth.
Africa: Alex Obanda, M Ouma, N Odhiambo, Tanmay Mishra, Goolam Bodi, Thandi Tshabalala, A Morkel, M Morkel, L Bosman, K Dabengwa, Tawanda Mupariwa and F Kasteni.
Hours of play: (in IST)
Women's match: 3 30 pm to 4 50 pm; 5 10 pm to 6 30 pm.
Men's match: 7 30 pm to 8 50 pm; 9 10 pm to 10 30 pm.
