The BCCI’s bid to prepone the five-Test series between India and England, starting August 4, by a week which would’ve helped them to accommodate the remaining 31 IPL matches has not met with any favorable response from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). While the RCB spokesperson has confirmed that the BCCI didn’t make any formal request regarding the same, it is learned that the informal discussions between the boards have not yielded any favorable result.
As per the quotes in PTI, describing the same a senior BCCI official said, “There is no chance of ECB acceding to BCCI’s request of shifting the dates of the Test series. Since they have made their standpoint clear informally, I don’t think there is any point of making a formal request. The ECB has its inaugural ‘Hundred’ from July 24 to August 21. Their broadcast deals and everything is in place. So there is no chance of any shift happening.”
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Team India will be waiting for at least six weeks after the completion of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand which is scheduled to be commencing on June 18- Southampton and ahead of the start of the England series. The five-Test series starts with the first match in Nottingham (Aug-4-8), followed by Lord’s (Aug 12-16), Leeds (Aug 25-29), Oval (Sep 2-6), and Manchester (Sep 10-14).
Former English skipper, Michael Atherton had in fact hinted that ECB won’t listen to BCCI’s request. In his column for ‘The Times’, Atherton wrote: “At this late stage it is hard to see the ECB acceding to any potential change and it is expected to hold its ground. The fifth Test of the India series is due to be held at Emirates Old Trafford between September 10-14.”
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Some of the reports have also suggested that the BCCI has already started talks with various boards about the window between September 15 to October 15 with UAE being almost zeroed in as the destination for the remaining games of IPL 021 edition.
