Team India To Train At Motera Stadium For Australia Tour Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The tour of Australia later this year looks set to be Team India’s first international assignment amid the coronavirus pandemic. Team India have not played any international game since the tour of New Zealand ended in early March. The Men in Blue were involved in a three-match ODI series against South Africa when the series was postponed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The first match of that series was washed out before both the countries decided to call-off the series. The BCCI has already called off the series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. And it looks like Virat Kohli & Co. will finally take the field for an international game in Australia.

The BCCI, meanwhile, has already started preparing for the series and is planning to host a training camp in Ahmedabad’s revamped state-of-the-art Motera stadium, according to a report in The Indian Express. The report stated that Ahmedabad was picked as the venue for the camp because of its facilities.

During BCCI’s Apex Council meeting on Friday, several venues including Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy were discussed for conducting the training camp. But the officials eventually picked the Motera Stadium, owing to its state-of-the-art training facilities along with the plush in-built accommodation centre.

“We cannot go to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru as the city is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases. Hence, Ahmedabad, with its facilities, is a place where we can hold a training camp under a bio-secure environment,” an Apex Council member was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier this year, the stadium hosted the ‘Namaste Trump’ event and can now accommodate 1,10,000 spectators after Rs 800 crore was spent on its renovation. Just like India, Australia have also not a played any international game since March.

However, they can make a return in September if their tour of England goes ahead as planned. Cricket Australia have already named a provisional squad for the tour.

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