COVID Scare: Will Odisha’s Barabati Stadium Lose The Opportunity To Host India-WI T20 Internationals?

Mumbai: Barabati Stadium in Odisha’s Cuttack may lose the opportunity to host India-West Indies T20I matches due to the rising COVID cases.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Tours and Fixtures Committee has recommended that the three-match ODI series and the three-match T20I series between India and West Indies be played in Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

The six games, to be played from February 6 to 20, were scheduled to be held at six venues at Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram. However, with the rise of COVID-19 cases in the country, the BCCI has been recommended to reduce the number of venues.

Playing the matches at one or two centres will avoid too much travelling and cut the risk factor amid the COVID-19 threat.

The recommendation by the committee to organise matches in Ahmedabad and Kolkata was passed to the office bearers on Wednesday evening. However, the fixtures are yet to be finalised, a Cricbuzz report said.

As per the information from BCCI, the West Indies team is scheduled to arrive on February 1 and undergo a three-day isolation period till February 3. The teams are to have nets for two days, on February 4 and 5, before the first game on February 6.