Six new venues to host Tests in India this season
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced the venues for the upcoming home series against New Zealand, England and Australia, respectively, in a meeting in Mumbai on Thursday (June 9). India are set to play thirteen Test matches, eight One day Internationals (ODIs), and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) during the 2016-17 home season. Rajkot, Vizag, Pune, Dharamsala, Ranchi and Indore will be hosting Test matches for the first time.
The first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand will be played in Indore. The action then will shift to Kanpur and Kolkata. New Zealand are also scheduled to play five ODIs. Dharamsala, Delhi, Mohali, Ranchi and Vizag will be the five venues for the series.
England then are expected to tour India by the end of the year for a five-match Test series. Mohali, Rajkot, Mumbai, Vizag and Chennai will host the eagerly awaited series.
Meanwhile, Pune, Cuttack and Kolkata have been selected as the venues to hold the three-match ODI series. The tour also consists of three T20Is, which will take place in Bengaluru, Nagpur and Kanpur. In February-March 2017, Australia will tour India to play four Tests in Bengaluru, Dharamsala, Ranchi and Pune.
In addition to this, Hyderabad will host the lone Test against Bangladesh.
BCCI President Anurag Thakur said: "I welcome the new Test venues hosting this prestigious format of cricket and their arrival will take Test match cricket, to every corner of the country."
The historic Duleep Trophy will return to the Indian domestic scene in 2016-17 and the games will be played under lights. The tournament, which first came into existence in 1961-62, wasn't held last year due to a busy schedule. Thakur said that he was delighted the Duleep Trophy matches will be day-night fixtures. He also welcomed Chhattisgarh, as the newest entrant to the Ranji Trophy fold.
"We are equally excited about the domestic season as we will be playing the Duleep trophy with the pink ball under lights and take this opportunity to welcome Chhattisgarh, who will play Ranji trophy for the first time. A combined team of Affiliate & Associate states will participate in the junior age group tournaments, which will provide the much needed opportunity to the emerging players from these areas. This further reaffirms our commitment to spread the game by providing the appropriate platforms to our next generation cricketer," he concluded.
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