Ahmedabad and Kolkata have been named as the venues for the ODIs and the T20Is, respectively.
The board has modified the venues of the ODI and T20I series against the West Indies, scheduled for February, with the ODIs set to be played in Ahmedabad, while the T20Is will take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The third ODI has also been preponed to February 11, with the Indian Premier League auction set to kick off on February 12. The board has taken this decision keeping the pandemic in mind, as they aim to reduce the possibility of the coronavirus outbreak during travel.
An official statement released by the BCCI said that the decision was taken to “mitigate biosecurity risks by cutting down on travel and movement of the teams, match officials, broadcasters, and other stakeholders.”
The three-match ODI series will take place in Ahmedabad, beginning on February 6. The two teams will then move to Kolkata, where they will play three T20Is. The first T20I has been shifted to February 16 from its original February 15 date, while the other two games will go ahead as per the previous schedule, on February 18 and 20, respectively.
Taking the IPL mega auction into account, it was reported that the BCCI was looking at reshuffling the dates of the games against the West Indies, but discussions were going on with the WICB to find a feasible solution, which was finalised on Saturday.
The ODIs were originally scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Jaipur, while Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram were supposed to be the venues for the T20Is.
The BCCI has taken this measure keeping the Covid-19 situation in mind, with cases increasing rapidly across the country. With the Omicron variant becoming increasingly dominant, the governing body has exercised caution with this move, although it does not appear to be as severe as the previous Delta variant of the virus.
