The one-off Test between India and Bangladesh, which was originally slated to start on February 8, has been pushed by a day and will now start on February 9 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The decision was taken by the state board in order to attract crowd to the stadium.

“The Test was originally meant to start on a Wednesday. So we thought it would be better on all fronts if it starts on a Thursday and we could get crowds in for the Test,” a BCCI official said.

This one-off Test will be India’s second last leg of the long home season with Australia Test series being the last one.

This will be the first time when India will host Bangladesh for a Test series. This also makes them the last full-member team to host Bangladesh.

India though has played five Test series in Bangladesh with the last one coming in the year 2015, which was the first Test series for India after the retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The rain-marred Test saw Bangladesh escaping with a draw at the end.