logo
Indias home season: Kolkata, Delhi swap Tests against Windies and SA

Indias home season: Kolkata, Delhi swap Tests against Windies and SA

Mint3 days ago

New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) Kolkata's Eden Gardens and Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium will swap their allocated Test matches against West Indies and South Africa respectively during India's upcoming home season, the BCCI announced on Monday.
While Delhi was set to host the opening Test against South Africa from November 14-18, it will now host the second Test against West Indies starting October 10.
Though the BCCI release doesn't state the reason for the venue swap, it is understood that air pollution levels in mid-November in the National Capital Region become a health hazard like it happened during a Test match against Sri Lanka few years back.
The Sri Lankan fielders were wearing masks and a few reportedly suffered from breathing problems.
It is understood that BCCI's Cricket Operations team collated the AQI data over the past few years and decided that venue swap is a viable option.
India's home season starts with two WTC Tests against West Indies, starting October 2 in Ahmedabad, followed by the Delhi Test.
India then play a full three format series against South Africa starting with two Tests, followed by three ODIs and five T20 Internationals across various Indian venues.
While Kolkata hosts the opening Test against the Proteas, Guwahati's Barsapara Stadium will become the latest Test venue as the second Test will be played from November 22 to 26.
The ODIs will be held at Ranchi (November 30), Raipur (December 3) and Visakhapatnam (December 6). The five T20Is will be held at Cuttack (December 9), New Chandigarh (December 11), Dharamsala (December 14), Lucknow (December 17) and Ahmedabad (December 19).
Meanwhile Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has expressed its inability to host the women's ODI series against Australia starting September 14, which was supposed to serve as a pre-cursor to the 50-over World Cup starting September 30.
The first two matches of the series will now be played in Mullanpur (New Chandigarh) and the third match in New Delhi.
Men's A series vs Australia and South Africa
===========================
The fringe players in Indian men's team set-up will have their hands full with BCCI hosting both Australia A and South Africa A for four 'unofficial Tests' and six List A games.
Both the touring sides will play two 'Tests' and three List A games each. Australia A series will happen in Lucknow and Kanpur while Bengaluru's COE will host the Proteas A team for the 'unofficial Tests'. Rajkot will host three ODIs.
Australia A Tests will be in Lucknow from September 16-19 and 23-26 giving chance to the Test specialists to get into groove for the West Indies games.
Ditto for SA A series, which will be a shadow tour before the main event.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘If Bumrah stays fit for four Tests, India will win in England': Sourav Ganguly's ‘cheat code' for Shubman Gill, Gambhir
‘If Bumrah stays fit for four Tests, India will win in England': Sourav Ganguly's ‘cheat code' for Shubman Gill, Gambhir

Hindustan Times

timean hour ago

  • Hindustan Times

‘If Bumrah stays fit for four Tests, India will win in England': Sourav Ganguly's ‘cheat code' for Shubman Gill, Gambhir

Jasprit Bumrah's workload will be the biggest headache for the Indian team management heading into the Test series against England starting June 20 — especially after chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that the senior pacer is unlikely to feature in all five matches, owing to clear instructions from the BCCI medical team and physios. This has left head coach Gautam Gambhir with the tricky task of figuring out which games would be best to deploy Bumrah. However, former India captain Sourav Ganguly, on Wednesday, offered a 'cheat code' for how India could make the most of Bumrah in their bid to win a Test series in England. Speaking to RevSportz, Ganguly said he has his fingers crossed over Bumrah's fitness throughout the series. He added that even if the management feels the need to rest him for the second game, "so be it" — but stressed that Bumrah must play the final two matches. "Hoping Bumrah remains fit for the five Test matches. Even if it means giving him a break after the 2nd Test match, and then getting him back for the 4th and 5th, because a fit Bumrah will be very important," he said. The India legend then cautioned the new Test captain Shubman Gill on how to utilise Bumrah during the matches and urged Gambhir too keep a close eye on the proceedings and according guide the skipper. "Shubman Gill needs to understand not to bowl Bumrah into the ground. Use him as a wicket-taker, use him in short spells, so that he remains fit for five Test matches. And make sure the others [chip in] – young Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, has got tremendous fitness and ability, and is a warhorse. Make sure Bumrah is used as a wicket-taker. He has got to understand that, and I am sure Gautam [Gambhir] is there, and the senior players there, they will guide him," Ganguly added. Although the Ben Stokes-led side will be heading into the series as favourites in the wake of the sudden retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Ganguly reckoned that if Bumrah can remain fit for even four matches, India could claim their first series win in England in over a decade. "Very inexperienced batting line-up at the moment on paper. Obviously, on the field, it's different. With [Joe] Root, [Harry] Brook, [Ben] Stokes, [Ben] Duckett, Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse, it's a good Test team. But still, nothing stops India from winning. There is no one favourite in sports. India, if they work hard and Bumrah stays fit even for four tests, will win this series."

Apathy and anger cloud USA team a year out from World Cup
Apathy and anger cloud USA team a year out from World Cup

Hindustan Times

time2 hours ago

  • Hindustan Times

Apathy and anger cloud USA team a year out from World Cup

A run of four straight losses, including a 4-0 hammering from Switzerland on Wednesday, has left Mauricio Pochettino and his USA team feeling the wrath of critics a year out from the World Cup they will co-host. The USA head into their opening game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday having lost on home soil to Panama and Canada in the Nations League in March before friendly losses to Turkey and the debacle against the Swiss. "I think it is the most embarrassed I have been for the US national team in a long time," said Kasey Keller, who played in goal for the USA 102 times between 1990 and 2007. While there were plenty of American fans venting similar feelings on social media after the loss, what will perhaps be more concerning for the US Soccer Federation is supporters voting with their feet and not attending games. There were thousands of empty seats in Nashville for the Switzerland defeat after poor turn-outs for March's games in Los Angeles. "There's just a sense of apathy around the United States men's program and I don't think that's a hot take," former striker Taylor Twellman told NBC Sports. Alexi Lalas, a star of the USA team the last time they hosted a World Cup in 1994, has built a career in 'hot takes' for Fox Sports but even he was struggling to fire himself up for a Star Spangled rant after the latest disappointment. "I'm having a hard time even conjuring up that and that makes a little sad. In the past when I was angry at what was going on, I felt compelled to express it and now they are not even worth that, not worth me expressing how disappointing this is right now," he said on his podcast 'State of the Union'. Pochettino has been forced to field a largely second string squad in this month's games with the likes of Tim Weah and Weston McKennie on Club World Cup duty with Juventus while captain and talisman Christian Pulisic has opted to take some rest along with some other members of the first choice squad. That latter decision prompted fierce criticism from some ex-players, including Landon Donovan, the country's all-time joint top scorer who during commentary of Portugal's win in the UEFA Nations League hit out at the absentees. "[Ronaldo is] 40 years old. He's played a long-ass season. He's tired. He's out there grinding. Hurt himself in the process, and I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's pissing me off," he said. That led to a sarcastic reply on social media from Pulisic's father Mark who posted a reminder of Donovan's own 'sabbatical' from the USA team. But there is also pressure mounting on Pochettino, the Argentine former Tottenham Hotspur manager, who was appointed to the USA role in September. The coach said he would take the blame for the showing against Switzerland where the USA were 4-0 down by half-time. "It's my responsibility the choice of the starting 11. I wanted to give minutes to certain players, but we were never in the game," the Argentine said. While Pochettino's job may be safe, some are wondering if he might not need some assistance. "It looks like he doesn't know the team, it looks like he doesn't scout the players, has no idea of the pieces he has at his disposal," said former USA forward Hercules Gomez on You Tube. "The US Soccer Federation, why not place somebody who has some experience with the player pool to help Pochettino out because it looks like he has no idea who his players are? With a World Cup on home soil that is a disaster," he added. The USA will co-host the World Cup with Mexico and Canada. sev/rcw

Tilak Varma rises to third in ICC T20I batting rankings; Rashid moves to second among bowlers
Tilak Varma rises to third in ICC T20I batting rankings; Rashid moves to second among bowlers

The Hindu

time3 hours ago

  • The Hindu

Tilak Varma rises to third in ICC T20I batting rankings; Rashid moves to second among bowlers

India's Tilak Varma climbed one spot to third in the ICC Men's T20I Batting Rankings, while spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi held on to the third and seventh positions respectively in the latest bowling chart released on Wednesday. Tilak now has 804 rating points, behind compatriot Abhishek Sharma, who is placed second. Australia's Travis Head continues to lead the batting chart while Suryakumar Yadav, who slipped one place to sixth, is the only other Indian in the top 10. In the bowling rankings, besides Chakaravarthy (706) and Bishnoi (674), left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is also in the top 10 with 653 points. Hardik Pandya continues to lead the all-rounders' list with 252 rating points. Among others, England's Adil Rashid moved up a spot to second in the bowling rankings following a strong showing in the 3-0 T20I series win over West Indies. The 37-year-old picked up 1/22 in Chester-le-Street, 1/59 in Bristol, and 2/30 in Southampton to surpass Wanindu Hasaranga and Chakaravarthy. Rashid now has 710 points, just 13 behind top-ranked Jacob Duffy of New Zealand (723). Brydon Carse, Rashid's teammate, also made gains with two wickets across the last two games, jumping 16 spots to 52nd with 493 points. England's Ben Duckett rose 48 places to 16th after his blazing 84 off 46 balls in the final T20I, while Harry Brook moved up six spots to joint-38th following knocks of 35 not out and 34 in the series. For West Indies, captain Shai Hope moved up 14 places to 15th with two knocks in the 40s, while Rovman Powell entered the top 20 after an unbeaten 79 off 45 balls in the final game. All-rounder Jason Holder also made progress, moving up 16 places to 26th in the all-rounder rankings after contributing 70 runs and a wicket in the series.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store