Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to host a full-fledged England tour across different venues in India. Earlier, there were reports that England had urged the Indian board to host the tour in UAE but BCCI is firm to host the first bilateral series at home since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Currently, Team India is near to end their Australia tour with one T20I and four-match Test series left to be played. They will return home in mid of January and the England tour is expected to start in February.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, talks between the BCCI and the ECB are in full swing with plans for four Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is to be played in India. There were suggestions that the teams could be based out of a single city with matches in nearby venues, but the BCCI is planning for a full tour with multiple venues. One of the venues is set to be the newly built stadium in Ahmedabad.
England tour of India: five T20Is, three ODIs and four Test matches
Earlier, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had confirmed that the tour will have four Test matches and not five as originally planned. The decision to scrap a Test has been taken as 2021 will see the ICC T20 World Cup later in the year in India. Two T20Is have been added to the series, taking the total to five T20s apart from four Tests and three ODIs.
Meanwhile, the ODI series between South Africa and England was called off because the hotel staff and a couple of members of both the camp tested positive for the virus. The cancellation of this series is a reminder for BCCI that they need to enforce strict bio-bubbles for the safety of both players.
The major cities Mumbai and Delhi have seen a re-surge in the case of India in the last two months. Thus, BCCI needs to take precautions, and any laxity in COVID-19 safety norms will put them under the radar and might halt other boards to send their team to tour India.