I don't think it will be possible for India to participate in five Tests against Australia: Sourav Ganguly

A lot has been discussed in the last few weeks about India’s tour of Australia later this year. With the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Cricket Australia (CA) is suffering massive financial loss already and it cannot afford the cancellation of the much-awaited series against India. Earlier, the BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal had confirmed that the team is ready to stay in quarantine for 14 days after landing in 14 days.

But he was not sure about CA’s request to play five Tests during the tour. However, the BCCI President has confirmed that the five-match Test series is not possible on the Australia tour as the team will also be playing the limited-overs series and the fact that they will be in quarantine for 14 days will also extend their tour.

“I don’t think it will be possible for India to participate in five Tests. There will be limited-overs games and plus we have to consider the 14-day quarantine guidelines. All this will extend the tour,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by Mid-Day. The T20 World Cup is also scheduled to take place in Australia before the tour. However, the mega event is currently in doubt given the risk of players coming together from so many countries.

Earlier, CA Chief Kevin Roberts had stated the relationship between the two boards are very strong and had denied the possibility of India and Australia playing five Tests. “There’s no certainty about that [five-Test series] for the coming season, but what I can say is that the relationship between the BCCI and Cricket Australia is really strong.

“We’ve discussed a shared desire to evolve to five-Test series between Australia and India in the future,” he had told the reporters in a video call in April.

India to tour Sri Lanka in July?

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has requested team India to tour the island nation in July for the scheduled limited-overs series. SLC has reportedly sent an email to the BCCI expressing its willingness to host the series behind the closed doors and is awaiting the reply. However, looking at the current situation, the possibility of the same happening looks slim.