The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to prepone the timings of the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka keeping in mind the weather conditions in North India during December.
Image: BCCIEarlier, the first two ODIs to played at Dharamsala and Mohali were to start at 1:30 PM but now, the games will begin at 11:30 AM,
“The BCCI in consultations with the two staging host associations Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) – has revised the start times of the first two matches of the upcoming Paytm ODI series against Sri Lanka to be held in Dharamsala (Dec 10, 2017) and Mohali (Dec 13, 2017) respectively. The first two ODIs will now start at 11:30 AM. The decision was made keeping in mind the recommendation of host associations regarding inclement weather conditions in North India in the month of December,” a statement from BCCI read as.
The games will still be a day-night affair as in December; the sun sets quite early in North India and fog will also come into play during the game. The first ODI will be played on December 10 in Dharamsala while Mohali will host the second ODI on December 13.
It will be after three years when both the teams will be facing each other in an ODI series in India. It was last in 2014 when Sri Lanka travelled to the country for five-match ODI series.
(Image: BCCI)
Virat Kohli was appointed as the captain for the series after MS Dhoni was given rest. India defeated Sri Lanka by a margin of 5-0.
(Image: BCCI)
This time though, Virat Kohli might not be the captain as there are chances of the Indian skipper being given a rest for the limited-overs series. If given rest, Rohit Sharma will be an automatic choice for the captaincy post, as he is presently working as deputy to Kohli.
Apart from Kohli, players like Rahane, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami are expected to be given rest, as these players will be crucial for team India’s success on South Africa tour next year. The limited-over specialist players will be making a comeback for the series against Sri Lanka later.