Mumbai: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly, has confirmed that India will play its third pink-ball Test at home against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. India are slated to play two-match series against Sri Lanka after the West Indies series.
After the white-ball series against the West Indies concludes in Kolkata on February 20, India will host Sri Lanka for three T20Is and two Tests scheduled in the period of late February and early March.
“Yes, the pink-ball Test will be happening in Bengaluru. We have not decided on all the venues for the Sri Lanka series yet, but it will be announced shortly,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
It will be the third pink-ball Test to be hosted by India. Earlier India played against Bangladesh in the first day-night Test on Indian soil in Kolkata (2019) and the second one against England in Ahmedabad (2021). The Tests against Sri Lanka will have a new captain for India after Virat Kohli stepped down from the role in January.
Ganguly also confirmed that IPL 2022 will be held in India unless a spike in Covid-19 cases spoils it. “It will be held in India this year, until and unless Covid-19 hits the roof. As far as venues are concerned, we are looking at hosting the matches in Maharashtra — Mumbai, and Pune. We will take a call on the venues for the knockout stages later.” The former skipper added.
Talking about the Test captaincy Ganguly felt it is upto the selection committee to decide on the long-term captaincy options. “Let’s leave that to the selectors. Whatever they decide on captaincy, we will go by that.”
India will be seen in action on February 6 when they will face the West Indies in the first of three ODIs in Ahmedabad despite Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Navdeep Saini, fielding coach T. Dilip, Security Liaison Officer B Lokesh, and Sports Massage Therapist Rajeev Kumar testing positive for Covid-19.
The first ODI of the 3-match series on Sunday will also be India’s 1000th appearance in ODIs cricket and the Asian giants will be the first team to achieve the landmark. Ganguly expressed sadness over fans missing out on an iconic match in Ahmedabad because of Covid-19.
“I was the captain of India in the 500th ODI (against England at the Riverside in Chester-le-Street on July 4, 2002). It is a big moment for Indian cricket, but unfortunately, the match will be played without a crowd. The series, too, will be played in empty stadiums. It could have been done in a much better way had there been no Covid-19, but you cannot help it. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we can’t really plan anything for this iconic fixture.” he concluded.
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