The newly built Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium in Rajkot is set to become India’s latest test venue. With England due to tour India for a five-match test series in November this year, the stadium is likely to be allotted one of the tests. The stadium is currently the home ground of Gujarat Lions in the IPL and has witnessed outstanding crowd attendance so far.
Niranjan Shah, the secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association, stated that the ground was most likely to host a test against England. “There are eight Tests slotted to be played in India this year. The New Zealanders will be coming in October for three Tests while the England team will tour India in November to play five Tests. Most likely , SCA will get to host one of the England Test matches,” Shah told TOI.
The stadium has already hosted a couple of ODI’s before, featuring India and England, and recently, the game between India and South Africa. It must be noticed that India lost both the games at the particular venue while chasing. Apart from ODI’s, the SCA stadium in Rajkot has also hosted a T20I fixture, between India and Australia, which the hosts won.
Local Saurashtra boy and India’s test number 3 Cheteshwar Pujara admitted that he was glad when he heard that Rajkot would host a test against England. Pujara admitted that Rajkot hosting a game would be great news for the city. “It will be a big thing in Rajkot and people will love it. Ours is a small town and people here appreciate every kind of cricket being played here,” Pujara said.