Kolkata tsunami match scrapped

The high-profile charity cricket match between Rest of the World and an Asian XI, scheduled to be held in Kolkata in April to raise funds for tsunami victims, has been called off.

Disclosing this in Kolkata on Monday, Asian Cricket Council President Jagmohan Dalmiya said the match had to be scrapped because it was not feasible to hold the match in April.

"Due to the heat in this part of the country in second half of April, the tsunami match cannot be held," he said.

The match could not be held earlier than that because India and Pakistan would be busy with their series till mid-April.

The match, originally scheduled to be held at the Eden Gardens on Feburary 13, had to be postponed to the second half of April due to non-availablity of best players from Australia and New Zealand.

The delay in holding the match could have also contributed to the decision to finally call it off.

The postponement was made as per the direction of the International Cricket Council, which had earlier assured the Asian body that the Rest of the World XI would comprise all front ranking players who did duty in the first tsunami relief match at Melbourne on January 10.

The ICC had also wanted that the second match be held in either India or Sri Lanka, the two countries which mainly suffered the devastations from the December 26 tsunami.