International cricket will return to India after a coronavirus-forced break with the marquee series against England in February-March next year and the itinerary unveiled on Thursday features a Day/Night Pink Ball Test at the reconstructed Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Apart from the day-nighter starting February 24, Ahmedabad will also host the fourth and final Test and five T20Is, the BCCI stated unveiling the 52-day tour’s detailed schedule.
The two other venues that have been allotted matches as per BCCI’s rotational policy are Chennai, which will be the venue for the first two Test matches (starting February 5), and Pune that will host the three ODIs (March 23 to 28).
“Chennai will also host the second Test while the newly built Sardar Patel Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the remaining two Test matches,” stated a press release from the BCCI.
“Motera, the largest cricket stadium in the world, boasts of state of the art facilities and a seating capacity of 110,000...The iconic Test will be followed by the 5-match T20I series, which will also be held in Ahmedabad,” it added.
England team will finish its two World Test Championship engagements in Sri Lanka (Jan 14-18, Jan 22-26) and fly from Colombo to Chennai on Jan 27.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Thursday announced Motera as the venue for the day/night Test during the Gujarat Cricket Association’s Indoor Academy inauguration.
The match will be India’s second pink ball Test at home after the Bangladesh game at the Eden Gardens last year.
The last leg of the tour will feature ODIs and all three matches will be held in Pune.
Since the England team will be travelling from one bio-bubble to another, it would be allowed to train during its week-long soft quarantine in Chennai.
There are no practice matches scheduled as of now and it is understood that since England would have already played two Tests in Sri Lanka, they won’t require a warm-up game after landing in Chennai.
The Indian squad members are likely to be given a week’s break after they are back from Australia and would again undergo RT-PCR Tests before they enter the bio-bubble in Chennai.
It is understood that a successful hosting of England series would pave the way for a good IPL at home after it had to be taken to UAE this year.