Sport | Cricket
Chennai and Mohali to host Tests
The itinerary for the England cricket team's tour of India has been altered in view of last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Monday.
- AP
- Published: 00:41 December 2, 2008
- Image Credit: AP
- The first Test will now be played from December 11-15 in Chennai, while Mohali will host the second Test from December 19-23.
New Delhi: The itinerary for the England cricket team's tour of India has been altered in view of last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Monday.
The first Test will now be played from December 11-15 in Chennai, while Mohali will host the second Test from December 19-23.
Chennai was chosen as an alternative venue to Mumbai, where terrorist attacks killed at least 172 people last week. The Indian board also changed the venue of the other Test from Ahmedabad, which had originally been set to host the opening Test.
The lone warm-up game, from December 5-7, was dropped from the schedule, the BCCI secretary, N. Srinivasan said yesterday.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would give clearance to the tour only after its security expert had assessed the venues, Srinivasan added.
The two cricket boards are exploring the chances of playing the Test matches as originally scheduled even after England's cricketers returned home following the attack on Mumbai.
The last two one-dayers of the seven-match series, which India leads 5-0, were cancelled.
The ECB also asked its second-string performance squad to return home from Bangalore.
England had originally been scheduled to return on Dec. 16 to Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, one of two luxury hotels targeted in the attacks.
Indian organisers have also postponed the Champions League Twenty20 tournament that was to be played December 3-10 at three venues - Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore - featuring eight teams.
Teams from Australia, South Africa, England and Pakistan had been scheduled to play in the inaugural Champions League.
England have confirmed they will play a two-Test series in India later this month, the BCCI said yesterday.
The schedule for the series has once again been revised with the first Test in the southern city of Chennai from December 11-15 and the second in northern Mohali from December 19-23, a BCCI statement said.
The three-day tour match from December 5-7 has been cancelled, it added. A formal announcement from the England and Wales Board (ECB) was expected later yesterday.
"The ECB has informed BCCI that England are agreeable to tour India and play two Tests," the statement said.
Multimedia
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