The third Test between India and Australia has been shifted out of Dharamsala. The fixture, scheduled for a March 1 start, will now take place at some other venue. The BCCI is in a huddle and discussing possible venues for the third Test of the ongoing series and an announcement in that regard is expected soon.
The Dharamsala Cricket Stadium had undergone massive construction and the entire outfield and -pitch area was re-laid keeping the extreme weather conditions in mind. While most of the work has been finished, the surface and outfield area are yet to be tested and the men who matter didn’t want to take a chance with an international fixture.
With very little time to go for the Dharamsala Test, there was no way the state association could have squeezed in a local game to see how the surface and outfield reacts.
“There is very little time to test the conditions and we don’t want to take any chances. The third Test is moving out of Dharamsala and decision regarding the new venue will be taken very soon,” a senior board official told News18 CricketNext.
It has been reliably learnt that Indore, Rajkot, Vishakhapatnam and Mumbai are some of the venues being considered at the moment.
The Dharamsala Stadium wasn’t available for any cricket this domestic season and Himachal Pradesh played their home fixtures at Nadaun. The HPCA officials were in a race against time to get the venue ready for the India-Australia Test and BCCI has now opted for the safer approach to where things stand.
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India thumped Australia in the opening Test of the series in Nagpur and action will now shift to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi where the second Test starts on February 17. The fourth Test remains with Ahmedabad and now it remains to be seen where the board decides to hold the third Test of the series.
The three ODIs against Australia will take place in Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai respectively and the board is likely to factor in the venues for the ODIs before deciding the venue for the third Test.
Schedule for the Border Gavaskar Trophy and ODI series:
2nd Test, Delhi – February 17
3rd Test, TBD – March 1
4th Test, Ahmedabad – March 9
1st ODI, Mumbai – March 17
2nd ODI, Vishakhapatnam – March 19
3rd ODI, Chennai – March 22
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