Winners of the inaugural edition of Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals could get a chance to play at Lord's, the mecca of cricket, if a plan set afoot by Marylebone Cricket Club, the custodian of the ground, gets the green light.
MCC is planning to organise an annual British Asia Cup and this year's one-off match is likely to be played between last year's IPL winners Rajasthan Royals and England's Twenty20 champions Middlesex on July 6.
Proceeds from the match, to be held before the Ashes, will go to the British Asia Trust.
The organisers plan to make an annual contest between the winners of the IPL and England's T20 tournament a best-of-three affair from 2010.
"This is yet another milestone in the international development of the IPL," IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Telegraph'.
"We have shown this year that the IPL truly has global appeal, and for one of our teams to be playing at the 'home of cricket' in front of the wonderfully passionate British fans is very exciting," he said.
Royals, led by Shane Warne, is expected to have a full strength squad, including South Africans Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel as well as Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Akmal, the report claimed.
"This is a great opportunity for the Rajasthan Royals to expand our fan base in the UK, and to showcase the great international talent in the team, and on a personal note, I am especially pleased that the British Asian Trust will be benefiting from the event," Royals co-owner Manoj Badale said.
Middlesex, who missed out on the opportunity to play in the Champions League following the Mumbai terror attacks last November, were happy with the development.
"After the disappointment of not being able to play the Champions League last year it is fantastic that the 2008 Twenty20 Champions of England and India can play such a match," Middlesex Chief Executive Vinny Codrington said.
"The fact that the game will benefit such a worthy charity is tremendous bonus," he said.
