Ahmedabad and Kolkata to host limited-overs series against West Indies, BCCI announce revised itinerary

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the revised itinerary and venues for the upcoming home series against West Indies, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The 50-over leg of the series will now be played at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, followed by three T20Is at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. As per the original schedule, the matches were supposed to be organised at six different venues: Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kolkata for the three ODIs on February 6, 9 and 12, while Cuttack, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram for the three T20Is on February 15, 18 and 20.

However, in view of the pandemic situation of India, which is in the middle of the third wave of Covid-19, the board has decided to “limit the series to two venues instead of six” in a bid to “mitigate biosecurity risks by cutting down on travel and movement of the teams, match officials, broadcasters, and other stakeholders”.

The BCCI was only recently forced to postpone three major domestic tournaments – the Ranji Trophy, Col C K Nayudu Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 League – in the wake of the increasing Covid-19 cases in the nation.

Meanwhile, the West Indies team is set to undergo a three-day quarantine upon their arrival in Ahmedabad on February 1 before they can start training on February 4. Further, the BCCI has altered the schedule to avoid a clash with IPL mega auction, scheduled in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. As it stands, the series will start with the first ODI on February 6, followed by games on February 9 and 11. The three T20Is will be played on February 16, 18 and 20.

Earlier on January 22, the BCCI confirmed the IPL mega auction will be conducted as per original plans amidst speculations of a change in venue due to the Covid-19 surge, while it is also likely that the 15th edition of the tournament will start on March 27, a week before the originally planned start of April 2.

India vs West Indies 2022 revised itinerary