Football great Lionel Messi might well shed his football boots for a cricket bat to figure in a seven a side friendly cricket match vs MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli at the Wankhede Stadium on December 14 vs.
It is understood that negotiations are underway to bring together the Argentine soccer captain Messi regarded as one of the all-time greats in the game and cricket greats Kohli and Dhoni as a crowd sellout celebrity event and negotiations are currently underway to finalise the logistics of the match, which may also see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma grace the oxcasion.
Already a well-known event agency has requested the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to block the ground for December 14, when Messi is expected to visit Mumbai as part of a promotional tour of India.
“Messi will be at Wankhede Stadium on December 14. He is likely to play a cricket match, too, with former and current cricketers. The organisers will come up with a complete schedule once everything is finalised,” a MCA source stated of the glamour event on the cards.
During his brief visit, likely from December 13 to 15, Messi is expected to visit New Delhi and Kolkata too. It will be Messi’s second visit to India and the first in 14 years after the Argentine World Cup-winner travelled to play an international friendly against Venezuela at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium in 2011.
Earlier, there were reports that the Argentina national football team, including Messi, would visit India for a friendly in October. This was revealed by Kerala’s Sports Minister V Abdurahiman, after the state government reached an agreement with the Argentina Football Association (AFA) to host two games involving La Albiceleste in Kerala.
However, that plan has been put on hold, it is learnt.
Messi, 38, currently plays for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and is eyeing to play in the FIFA World Cup for one last time next year, after leading Argentina’s march to the title in 2022, when the tournament will be held in the USA.