Poonam Nath

Football Legend Messi to visit India; reports surface of 7-a-side cricket match with MSD and Virat Kohli

Digital Desk: Fans went bonkers over news that one of football's all-time greats, Lionel Andrés Messi, announced that he will be visiting New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata as part of a promotional tour of India. The Argentine FIFA World Cup champion is scheduled to visit the country from December 13 to 15.

Lionel Messi will hold football workshops in three Indian cities: Mumbai, Kolkata, and Thiruvananthapuram. His visit to the country is set for December of this year, with events hosted at Wankhede Stadium, Eden Gardens, and Greenfield International Stadium.

The most intriguing part is that he will face Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in a seven-a-side cricket match on December 14 at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium.

While work to confirm the match's logistics continues, an official at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) told the Indian Express that the much-anticipated cricket match may also feature Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma.

Messi's three-city tour will be his second visit to India and his first in 14 years, following an international friendly against Venezuela in Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium in 2011.