India v Bangladesh one-off Test rescheduled

The India v Bangladesh one-off Test match to be played next month at the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s Uppal Stadium has been rescheduled. The Test was originally scheduled to kick off on February 8 but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on January 14 announced that the start of the match will be postponed by one day.

It was to start on Feb 8 Wednesday and the last day of play would be Feb 12 Sunday but considering the Tests don’t last the duration of entire five days and team India’s dominance on home wickets it prompted them to push it back one day so that the third and fourth days of the match which are usually the most interesting will be Saturday and Sunday. “The Test was originally meant to start on a Wednesday. So we thought it would be better on all fronts if it starts on a Thursday and we could get crowds in for the Test,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying.

The one-off Test will be the first time Bangladesh will play a Test match in India. They are currently in New Zealand playing the Test series against the hosts and will fly back home on January 26. They will have a few days in hand and will travel to India on February 1.

Ahead of the match, the Bangladesh team have been set up a three-day warm-up fixture against India A from February 3 at another ground in Hyderabad. Both the teams are yet to announce their squad for the match and will be interesting to see if the No.1 team opts to give break to new faces in the game.

This match will also be important for the Indian team as this will give them an opportunity to iron out their strategies and team combinations ahead of the four-Test series against the Australian team. The visitors have picked a spin heavy team for the tour and will be hoping they can change their fortunes in the subcontinent where they have lost the last 9 Test matches they played.

The Australian selectors picked the squad for the tour of India – Australia name a spin heavy squad for the tour of India