The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced a change in venues for the upcoming West Indies tour of India. India will host the Caribbean side for three ODIs and as many T20Is in February. 

The BCCI had listed six venues for the series when announcing the home calendar for the 2021-2022 season in September, last year. 

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Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kolkata were listed as the three venues for the three ODIs – on February 6, 9 and 12 respectively, while Cuttack, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram were set to host the three T20Is – on February 15, 18 and 20.

Now, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host all three ODIs, on February 6, 9 and 11 respectively, while the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the three T20Is, on February 16, 18 and 20. 

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“The decision to limit the series to two venues instead of six as originally announced has been done to mitigate biosecurity risks by cutting down on travel and movement of the teams, match officials, broadcasters, and other stakeholders,” the BCCI said in a statement. 

The dates have also been tweaked in order to accomodate the mega auction for the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will be held on February 12 and 13, BCCI general secretary Jay Shah confirmed earlier today. He did not disclose if the auction will be held in Bengaluru, as had been widely expected. 

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The West Indies are currently hosting
England for a five-match T20I series, starting Saturday. All five matches will be
played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. England will also play three-match Test
series in the Caribbean, which will start after the Windies’ India tour.

The first Test is scheduled to start from March
8 and will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Barbados’
Kensington Oval will host the second Test, from March 16 to 20, while the third
Test will be played at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada from March
24-28.