India to host England in February 2021 and IPL 14 in April: Sourav Ganguly

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put forth the plans of India’s cricketing schedule for the next 10-12 months. India haven’t played international cricket since the away Tests against New Zealand due to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. However, in December, they are set to resume action with the bilateral series against Australia.

Thereafter, India will be hosting England for a series after which the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will commence in the month of April. The same was confirmed by Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, in the letter addressed to state associations on Thursday, August 20, reported by Mumbai Mirror.

BCCI making further efforts, writes Sourav Ganguly

“The senior Indian men’s team will travel to Australia in December this year and will come back to the country for a series against England starting from February next year. This will be followed by IPL 2021 in April,” Ganguly wrote.

2021 is expected to be a busy year for Indian cricket as the BCCI will be looking to make up for the lost time in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Ganguly also said that the board is looking forward to a healthy domestic season next year.

“In the domestic cricket context, we are currently in the off season and the BCCI is making all efforts to ensure that domestic cricket resumes as and when the conditions permit. The health and safety of players and all other involved in domestic cricket is of utmost importance to BCCI and we are constantly monitoring all aspects,” he stated.

“All members will be duly informed about the future course of action and suggestions will be taken before we resume domestic cricket. We are hopeful that the Covid-19 situation will improve over the next few months and we will be able to start domestic cricket in a safe and healthy environment,” Ganguly added.

For the time being, the BCCI is focussing on the 2020 IPL, scheduled to start on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tournament was set to be played from March, but had to be postponed for an indefinite time period. Recently, the BCCI also roped in Dream11 as the title sponsors for IPL 2020.