While the host India and the visitor Australia are ready to begin the ODI series, the Mohali and Delhi ODIs are under the cloud. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly looking for the alternate venues for those matches.
Since the Pulwama terror attack, the Cricket Australia (CA) is in concern about the security arrangement. Meanwhile, on this Wednesday (27 February), India shot down Pakistan’s F16 fighter jet in Kashmir’s Budgam district. After that, Delhi and Chandigarh airports were briefly shut down for several hours.
The BCCI and CA are continually observing the situation in both the cities. According to Insidesport report, if the situation remains similar or gets worse, the BCCI will decide to shift their upcoming Mohali and Delhi ODI matches.
After completion of the T20I series, India and Australia will now play the five-match ODI series. The ODI series is going to begin on this Saturday (2 March) at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (Hyderabad).
According to the schedule, Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium (Mohali) will host the fourth ODI of the series on 10 March.
Meanwhile, the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground (Delhi) will host the fifth and final ODI of the series on 13 March. All the five matches of the series will be the day/night encounters.
However, the BCCI has already started to look for the other alternate venues for those ODIs. If the situation doesn’t improve, the BCCI will shift those matches.
The possible alternate venues
According to the Insidesport report, the BCCI is considering to move those ODI matches at Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam. Earlier, both the venues hosted one T20I in the recently concluded two-match T20I series against Australia.
Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium (Visakhapatnam) hosted the first T20I on 24 February. Australia won that match by three wickets on the final ball of the game.
On the other hand, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru) organised the second T20I on 27 February. The visiting side Australia won that match by seven wickets (with two balls to spare). The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is reportedly ready to host an ODI in this series.
Also, the Saurashtra Cricket Association has recently proposed to organise one ODI in the upcoming series. They have sent an email to the BCCI where they have claimed that the SCA stadium is ready to host an ODI in this series.
However, the BCCI hasn’t made any official decision on these fourth and fifth ODIs of the India-Australia series.