The absence of some of cricket's biggest names has taken some gloss off the second edition of the Afro-Asia Cup.

The Afro-Asia Cup was designed to bring together the best cricket talent from the two continents.

But somewhere between its conceptualization and implementation, the event has lost its attraction. The inaugural event in South Africa two years ago lost some profile because of the absence of some big name players.

In a crowded international schedule, many top cricketers have again decided to skip the series that features three limited-overs internationals starting Wednesday in Bangalore and continuing Friday and Saturday in Chennai.

Indian stars Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are not playing, veteran Sri Lankan bowlers Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas and Pakistani allrounder Shoaib Malik are sitting out.

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene will lead the Asia XI and, despite the absence of some high-profile players, is looking forward to the challenge.

"Leading the Asian team is a unique challenge," Jayawardene said Tuesday after his team had a net session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

"It'll be a new experience as the environment is quite different from what one's used to," he said.

Africa's combination has been depleted by the absence of South African skipper Graeme Smith, leading allrounders Jaques Kallis and Andrew Hall, star batsman Herschelle Gibbs and paceman Makhaya Ntini.

Shaun Pollock will play the series only as a batsman, depleting the resources available to Africa's skipper Justin Kemp.

Africa coach Micky Arthur said the matches gave a chance to the young players from Kenya and Zimbabwe to make a mark.

"It's good way to raise money for Asian and African cricket," said Arthur, reflecting on the objective of the series to generate funds for the development of the game in the two continents.

Squads:

Asia XI:

Africa XI:

Umpires:

TV umpire:

Match Referee: