IND v NZ series fixtures tweeted by India players

In what is perceived to be a first, the India players have tweeted the venues for the IND v NZ series scheduled to take place in October. Apart from the fact that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also went on to tweet the same for press purposes, the players, joined by their new coach Anil Kumble tweeted the venues the Indians would be playing in.

New Zealand will tour India in the end of September and all through October to play a full-fledged three-match Test series followed by a five-match ODI series. The tour will kick off with the opening Test in Indore, which will be the first for the venue in Kanpur, Madhya Pradesh. The tour is set to begin on the 22nd of September.

Interestingly, soon after the BCCI revealed the itinerary, it sent out a mail embedded with tweets from Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammed Shami, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin and also the newly-appointed coach Anil Kumble.

While many claim this to be a social media marketing gimmick, several others also have stated that this is to drive people to market Test cricket. With the Indian team scheduled to play 13 of its next 17 Tests at home, it is clear that the BCCI aims to bring more people to the stadiums to watch Virat Kohli and his men take on New Zealand and England later this year. Further reports also go on to suggest that if you are a player or a big personality affiliated with the BCCI, it is a part of your contract to be a part of these strategies.

Also, check out – No day-night Test matches in New Zealand tour of India

Here are the tweets: