Middlesex set sights on Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar shows his frustration at being dismissed for 175 for India against Australia.

The Daily Telegraph reported last night that Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist as set to sign contracts to play Twenty20 cricket for Middlesex next season. The deals would be part-funded by the MCC and would commit the players to five flood-lit Twenty20 matches, all at Lord's.
"We expect to make an announcement shortly," Keith Bradshaw, the MCC's chief executive, said. "The two clubs [MCC and Middlesex] are working closely together."
Sachin Tendulkar, 36, who is Test cricket's record run-scorer, has not played domestic cricket in England since he turned out for Yorkshire as a 19-year-old in 1992. Though he has played little Twenty20 cricket for India, he is the captain for Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Gilchrist, 38, has never appeared in county cricket, but was a mainstay for Australia for nearly a decade. He retired from international cricket in 2007 but continues to play with the Deccan Chargers in the IPL. Gilchrist, a member of the MCC's world cricket committee, may extend his affiliation with the MCC beyond the end of the Twenty20 Cup, and he is expected to play for Middlesex against the Australians before their one-day series against England.
The signing of two such internationally renowned players would be extrememly lucrative for the MCC, who are currently exploring ways to finance a £400m redevelopment plan.