Ahmedabad is also scheduled to host the five-game T20I series.
Chennai and Ahmedabad will host India’s next four-round series against England. The first two tests will be played in Chennai (February 5-9 and February 13-17), and the recently renovated Motera Stadium will host the next two matches, including the day and night test starting on February 24. February.
Ahmedabad will also host the five-game T20I series from March 12-20, right after the test leg of the tour. It is currently unclear whether the matches will be played behind closed doors or with fans.
England will land in Chennai on January 27, a day after finishing their test tour of Sri Lanka, which is scheduled to be played behind closed doors in Galle.
ESPNcricinfo understands that together with Ahmedabad and Chennai, the BCCI had discussed Mohali as a potential venue for the Test series, which will be the last assignment for India and England in the inaugural World Test Championship cycle. Eventually, Chennai gained preference over Mohali due to its proximity to Sri Lanka (about an hour flight from Colombo), as well as the surface at Chepauk, which is believed to be better suited to the onslaught of Indian bowling.
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad was chosen primarily because it has not hosted an international party for nearly six years and is also the base of operations for Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary.
The last international match played at Motera was the second match of the ODI series against Sri Lanka, in November 2014. The last domestic match was an IPL match in 2015 that Royal Challengers Bangalore won against the hosts Rajasthan Royals.
The renovated Motera Stadium, opened in February by outgoing US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has a capacity of 110,000 spectators, making it the world’s largest capacity cricket ground.
The newly laid land has 11 plots. It is understood that the Gujarat Cricket Association will organize at least one unofficial match played between Gujarat national players before the test series.
In a press release issued Thursday to announce the itinerary, the BCCI said they had “restricted” the UK tour to just three locations as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nothing is known about the fans in the games
The BCCI made no reference to whether fans could enter the stadium at its launch. But administrators are optimistic that the crowds could arrive as directed by the Indian government. Despite resuming normal life after two lengthy national lockdowns, India remains embroiled in the pandemic. The number of cases, according to the US-based John Hopkins University of Medicine, is approaching the 10 million mark (historic), putting India only behind the US. At the moment, India has recorded more than 141,000 deaths.
However, the emergence of vaccines globally has provided a ray of hope. The Indian government has established a panel of experts to authorize clinical trials conducted by three companies that are in advanced stages of creating a Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in the country.
With or without crowds, the England tour is the first international cricket to be played in India since March, when South Africa had to abort its limited tour midway and return home due to the pandemic.
“The BCCI prioritizes the health and safety of both teams and will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the tour is carried out in compliance with all the safety protocols agreed by the BCCI and ECB medical teams,” said Shah.
Tom Harrison, Executive Director of the ECB, said he was satisfied with BCCI’s planning to create a biosecure environment for the marquee series.
“International cricket between India and England is a highlight of the cricket calendar and always attracts significant levels of interest from fans around the world,” said Harrison.
“We are delighted with the planning that BCCI has undertaken to ensure that the three venues in Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune are ready to host international cricket in a biosecure environment and look forward to working closely with them over the next few weeks to finalize those plans. “.
Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor of ESPNcricinfo
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