New Delhi: Motera Cricket stadium in Ahmedabad is likely to host a day-night Test match between India and England during the five-match series, which will be played in January-February 2021.
India played their only Day-Night Test against Bangladesh last November at the Eden Gardens and Motera stadium, which is currently under renovation, will reportedly host only the second day-night Test match in India.
The decision was taken at the BCCI’s apex council meeting here on Sunday which was attended by the board President Sourav Ganguly and the secretary Jay Shah.
As far as the five-match Test series against England is concerned, venues for the same will be decided in near future and noticeably, the series will be India’s last in the ongoing ICC Test Championship.
Also, it should be noted that Motera Cricket stadium which is also known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium hasn’t hosted an international game since November 2014. India and Sri Lanka last played an ODI at the venue after which the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) decided to renovate it completely.
The new-look stadium which, once completed, will be the largest cricket stadium in the world having a seating capacity of 1,10,000 people.
Meanwhile, BCCI president Ganguly on Sunday confirmed that India will play a pink-ball Test during their much-anticipated tour of Australia later this year.
"Yes, India will play a Day/Night Test in Australia. A formal announcement will be made soon," BCCI president Sourav Ganguly told media.
The decision comes a month after captain Virat Kohli asserted that his team was ready to play a day-night Test anywhere in Australia.
On the eve of India's three-match ODI series opener at home against Australia last month, Kohli had said, "We're ready and up for the challenge - whether it's Gabba, Perth... it doesn't matter to us. It's become a very exciting feature of any Test series and we're open to playing day-night Tests."
While the venue has not been finalised yet, the pink ball game is likely to be held in either Adelaide or Perth. Hosting the game in one of these venues makes sense given the better time slot for Indian broadcast audience.
Interestingly, India declined Australia's offer to play a day-night Test in Adelaide in 2018-19, citing lack of experience.
