The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal has revealed that the team is open to playing all the four Test matches against Australia at Adelaide Oval. It is known that not a lot of travelling will be possible for both the teams amid the coronavirus pandemic as it will raise the risk. Furthermore, it will be difficult from a logistical point of view.
Arun Dhumal had recently mentioned that the Indian team is also ready to quarantine themselves for 14 days to make Australia tour happen. Australia has done a fine job in keeping coronavirus in check so far as 7023 cases have been confirmed out pf which 98 people have lost their lives.
It will make sense to play all the matches at a single venue.
On the other hand, it is well known that the bilateral series will be preferred over ICC tournaments. The cricket boards will aim to make up for the monetary losses they have incurred during these tumultuous times.
Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood and Travis Head had recently said that the whole series against India should be played at Adelaide Oval. Cricket Australia is set to lose a whopping amount of A$300 million if the Indian team doesn’t tour Down Under because of the pandemic.
Furthermore, there is no doubt that the matches will be played behind closed doors.
“The boys would be very keen to go back to the field,” Arun Dhumal told Reuters.
“If the situation allows only one venue for all the matches, so be it. Maybe when the lockdown is lifted, it would be the new normal that everyone has to follow.
“There’s talk of matches without spectators. Nobody would like that, but if it comes to that and there’s no other way, one may have to do that.”
India had savoured success in 2018-19:
India and Australia are the two top sides in the Test fold, and the aficionados are desperately waiting for series. Virat Kohli’s men are at the top of the ICC Test Championship with 360 points whereas Australia recently dethroned India from the zenith of the ICC Test rankings. India had savoured their maiden win on the Australian soil when they had toured back in 2018-19. The visitors had won the four-match series by 2-1, and they would like to replicate their success.
The tourists had won the first Test by 31 runs at Adelaide whereas they lost the second by 146 runs. The Indian team made a roaring comeback to win the third by 137 and also dominated the fourth Test match, which ended in a draw after rain played a killjoy.