Australia vs India: Sydney and Canberra to host white-ball leg of the tour

Things are materialising for Cricket Australia (CA) in terms of venues slows to host the Virat Kohli-led India next month. The New South Wales government has given a green light for to play ODIs and T20Is next month in Sydney and Canberra. The two parties knitted together a deal for the visiting team India and IPL bound Australia players to quarantine as well as train at the same time in Sydney.

NSW government gave approved the quarantine protocols but BCCI is yet to give a sign-off which is also expected to come soon. Accordingly, India’s tour of Australia will begin with the ODI series. The first two matches will be played on November 27 and 29 at the SCG. Canberra’s Manuka Oval will host the last ODI and the first T20I of the three-match series on December 1 and 4 respectively.

The two teams will again return to Sydney for the last two T20 Internationals on December 6 and 8 according to ESPNCricinfo. As reported earlier, the tussle in the longest format will begin with the Pink ball Test set to be played at the Adelaide Oval from December 17-21. The same venue is also the back-up option for the Boxing Day Test if the COVID-19 situation in Melbourne doesn’t allow it to take place.

Team India and Australia players to fly to Sydney after IPL

According to the new plan now, the IPL bound players of India and Australia will fly to Sydney soon after the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) which is set to end on November 10. Moreover, the Indian cricketers like Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari among a few others who are not part of the IPL will soon be reaching UAE and complete their quarantine period.

The selection committee is also expected to pick a jumbo squad of 32 players across all formats. This will also allow the team to play a couple of intra-squad warm-up matches on the tour. BCCI is expected to announce the squad for Australia tour by the end of this week.