India to Participate in Hong Kong Sixes Tournament After Over a Decade, Marking the Iconic Event's Return After 7-Year Hiatus

Cricket Hong Kong officially announced that India will be joining the lineup for the upcoming HK6 tournament. The post declared, "Team India is all set to showcase their power on the field and hit it out of the park at HK6!" India is among the 11 countries that will be competing in the tournament, including arch-rivals Pakistan. The potential match-up between these two cricket powerhouses is always a highly anticipated event in any multi-nation tournament. Fans can expect an exciting showdown if they face off against each other in HK6.

The first edition of the tournament was in 1992. Over the years, a number of major stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara have tried their hands at the format. The tournament features unique rules with each team fielding only six players. The matches last a maximum of 45 minutes. The presence of just six players in the team means that there would be just four fielders once the wicketkeeper and bowler are counted out. Each team faces five overs each, and everyone (except for the wicketkeeper) is required to bowl one over each.

Batsmen are forced to retire at 31, but can come back in once all other batsmen have been dismissed or have retired. This can make for some interesting situations at the end of the innings with the lower-order taking risky singles knowing that if they are out, their in-form batsman can come back in.

The tournament was held every year between 1993 and 1997. It then returned after a four-year absence in 2001 and was then held annually until 2012. The Hong Kong Sixes was then played in 2017, albeit without an Indian team in it, before disappearing once again for seven years.