Sourav Ganguly Wanting To Stage The India-England Series At Home
Published - 28 Sep 2020, 08:36 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:34 AM
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has weighed on the venue of the next year’s Test series between India and England, originally scheduled to take place in India. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, Sri Lanka or the United Arab Emirates have emerged as the contenders. Nevertheless, Sourav Ganguly wants to ensure that the series is held in India.
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The English cricket team last toured India in 2016 when they lost the five-Test series convincingly by 4-0. The high-profile Test rubber as tempting as it sounds could be risky to stage in India since the COVID-19 cases have spiked more than 60 lakhs while the fatality stands at 95000. England’s visit comprises of five Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is, beginning in January 2021.
Sourav Ganguly stated that their priority is to make the series happen in India; however, underlined that UAE holds an advantage since it has three stadiums available. The former Indian skipper highlighted having the same facility in India and stressed the need to create a bubble. Ganguly said that they want to base the series in India and continuously monitoring the pandemic’s situation.
“The priority is to make this (series against England) happen in India. We will try to make this happen on Indian grounds. The advantage in UAE is they have three stadiums (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai). We also have the same facility in Mumbai — CCI, Wankhede and DY Patil. We also have Eden Gardens. We have to create a bubble. We want to hold our cricket in India, that’s where the game is, that’s where the heart is. But we are monitoring the COVID situation,” Ganguly stated as quoted by Hindustan Times.
“It’s been hard for the last six months to keep everything in order” : Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly further said that everything is up in the air for now, considering the wanting for cricket to happen, normalcy to restore, and the need to keep the players safe. However, it is equally essential to keep an eye on the progress of Coronavirus.
“Everything is fluid. It’s been hard for the last six months to keep everything in order. You want your cricket to happen. You want lives to get back to normal, there are players involved. But you also want to have a close look at the COVID situation,” he added.
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