Sachin Tendulkar

Johannesburg, Jan 05: It would be a historic day at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday, as the South African President and host of Bollywood stars led by Shahrukh Khan, will honour the legend batsman Sachin Tendulkar and Makhaya Ntini and they will be accompanied by the biggest crowd ever in the African continent. The Pro20 match between India and South Africa, which will be followed by Bollywood extravanza, have already booked 37,000 people and is expected to reach 40,000, as the Cricket South Africa (CSA) have released another 700 tickets for distribution to clubs, which is administered by the provincial KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union.

CSA Chief Executive Officer Gerald Majola said that, this would be the first cricket match ever to be played in the award winning Moses Mabhida Stadium, which was built for the FIFA World Cup 2010. He also that the Pro20 match on January 9 may lead to many more T20 games at this venue. “If this match is successful then certainly we will look to play two or more games every year on this venue,” Majola said. The match that will be followed by New Age Friendship Concert will bring to an end a year of celebrations of the arrival of the first indentured labourers from India in November 1860, completing 150 years.

Shahrukh Khan, who is presently in Dubai having holidays there is expected to come here on the same day for just the concert and will fly off the same day immediately. The other stars that will be present are Priyanka Chopra, Shahid Kapoor and Anil Kapoor, who was appointed the ambassador for South Africa by former president Thabo Mbeki in Parliament a few years ago. Meanwhile Majola admitted to the Afrikaans daily Beeld that the cricket board did not get much support from the local municipality in Durban as expected, where the idea of the concert was of them and they were actually funding it.

Tags: Batsman, Bollywood Stars, Cricket, Cricket South Africa, CSA, Durban, Moses Mabhida Stadium, SA, Sachin Tendulkar, Shahrukh Khan