BCCI swaps venues for West Indies and South Africa Tests due to shocking reason

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly made big changes in the venues for India’s upcoming Test matches against the West Indies and South Africa in 2025. The BCCI swapped the venues of these matches due to the air pollution concerns in the national capital, Delhi.

The second Test match between India and the West Indies, which was earlier scheduled to be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from October 10 to 14, will now take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on the same dates.

BCCI swaps India’s Test venues over Delhi’s pollution concerns

On the other hand, Kolkata’s Eden Gardens will now host the two-match Test series opener between India and South Africa, which was earlier scheduled to be hosted at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. This match will be played on the same dates—November 14 to 18—but now at Eden Gardens.

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This decision has reportedly been taken because of high pollution levels in Delhi during November. The BCCI wants to protect the health of players and staff, so they decided to shift the South Africa Test match to Kolkata, where conditions are expected to be better at that time of the year.

BCCI prioritizes player health: Sources

According to reports, the board is planning to make a formal announcement about this swap in the next few days. A BCCI source was quoted as saying by the Times of India, “The Arun Jaitley Delhi will now hold the second Test between India and the West Indies between Oct 10-14, which was originally supposed to be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.”

The source added, “Kolkata, meanwhile, will now hold the first Test between India and South Africa from Nov 14-18. This has been done to avoid the players from being affected by possibly high pollution levels at that time of the year. The BCCI prioritizes the welfare and well-being of the players and their health at all times. A formal announcement regarding this swap will be made in the next couple of days.”

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India to play West Indies and South Africa in a packed home season across 10 cities

Meanwhile, as announced by the board, Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will kick off the red-ball action, as they will host the first Test between India and the West Indies from October 2 to 6. The second Test is expected to be played in Delhi, with official confirmation awaited.

Once the West Indies Test series wraps up, the focus will shift to a high-stakes two-match Test series against South Africa. The India versus South Africa Test series is expected to begin in Kolkata (official announcement awaited), while Guwahati is locked in for the second Test from November 22 to 26.

Following the Test actions, the Men in Blue’s white-ball series against South Africa will shortly begin with a three-match ODI series. Ranchi will host the ODI series opener on November 30, followed by Raipur on December 3 and Visakhapatnam on December 6.

South Africa’s India tour will be completed with the five-match T20I series. Cuttack will host the first T20I on December 9, followed by matches in Mullanpur on December 11, in Dharamsala on December 14, and in Lucknow on December 17, with the final scheduled in Ahmedabad on December 19.

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