From top: Shah Rukh and Salman, Priety Zinta, John and Bipasha

Guwahati, Oct. 25: The oval galleries of the Nehru Stadium have put up with the weight of thousands of excited fans in their decades-long history, when a bespectacled Clive Llyod led his invincible heroes to the field or a spring-footed Jonty Rhodes defied gravity on the green turf or a football team from Uzbekistan wove magic on a rain-drenched afternoon or a svelte crooner raised her voice for charity.

After 11 pulsating one-day internationals, hosts of Ranji Trophy and Bordoloi Trophy matches, and countless charity shows, the galleries are again bracing for a torrent of fans when a confetti of Bollywood stars ? Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Shaheed Kapoor, John Abraham, Esha Deol, Rani Mukherjee, Priety Zinta and Bipasha Basu ? will take the field on December 28 for a friendly cricket match to raise money for flood victims.

The stars will be divided into two groups to stitch the team along with Assam cricketers for the limited-over fundraiser.

Former Miss World and actor Aishwarya Rai was also tipped to be part of the Bollywood entourage, but she turned down the request because of an appointment in London.

The film stars will fly in on match day and leave immediately after the game.

The friendly, to be organised by the Assam Cricket Association (ACA), has been made possible by retired Test player and former Assam Ranji coach Lalchand Rajput, currently a joint secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association.

?Rajput is the brain behind the affair. He has told us to organise the fundraiser to raise money for the victims of the unprecedented floods in the state. He confirmed about the match this evening,? ACA secretary Bikash Baruah said.

A major portion of the proceeds from the match will go to the chief minister?s relief fund for flood victims. The ACA will save a percentage of the profit for construction of the proposed cricket stadium at Barsapara and distribute the rest among its affiliated district units.

On the modalities and ticket prices for the match, Baruah said a governing body meeting would be convened soon to work out the details.

Sources in the ACA said the match could be a 30-over affair and the price tickets would be steeper than the one-dayers. ?People would be ready to fork out some extra bucks for flood relief and development of cricket. Moreover, they will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see their silver screen idols from close range,? one of them said.

The ACA hosted the New Zealand-Australia one-dayer on November 9 last year to raise funds for a cricket stadium at Hengerabari. At the end of the international match, the Hengerabari project was shelved after chief minister Tarun Gogoi allotted the Barsapara ground to the ACA.