The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that England will not be travelling to India for the white-ball series. As per schedule, The Three Lions were to play a white-ball series in September-October but the coronavirus pandemic has forced both the boards to postpone it.
They are now planning to conduct a full-fledged series in 2021. The England team was to return to India for a five-match Test series in 2021. Both the boards are now planning to stage a full-fledged series next year, which will run from January to March.
England opt for a break between white-ball and red-ball fixtures against India but the unwanted situation will see them doing away with the tradition.
“The BCCI and ECB are working closely to finalise the day-wise schedule as we move towards the resumption of cricket. The India-England series is one of the most anticipated contests in world cricket. The two teams compete hard on the field and provide some riveting moments,” Jay Shah, BCCI’s Honorary Secretary, said.
“I am pleased with the way BCCI and ECB have managed the situation. The rescheduled tour is also being redesigned in a way to accommodate both red and white-ball format and will now be a comprehensive one.”
Team India is also scheduled to tour England for a Test series next year. The tentative dates of the tour have not been released yet.
Both BCCI and ECB have been forced to cancel/postpone number of fixtures due to the pandemic so far. ECB, though, has managed to resume the action. It remains only board to stage international cricket. ECB recently hosted West Indies in a three-match Test series and is currently playing host to Pakistan for three Tests and as many T20Is.
BCCI has confirmed that it will host IPL 2020 but the rise in the number of cases in India has forced to board to shift the league to UAE. The T20 tournament will be played from September 19 to November 10. Following IPL, Team India will travel to Australia for a full-fledged series in 2020/21.
