India Test team will be led by Virat Kohli in the upcoming five-Test series. (Source: AP)
The England cricket team will start their campaign against the No. 1 Test side, India, on November 9 in Rajkot. England will play a five-Test series in the sub-continent which also marks the first “five-Test” series in India after 29 years, according to reports. The last five-Test series was hosted in the year 1987 against Pakistan. The upcoming Test has also garnered interest among cricket fans following reports of introduction of the Decision Review System (DRS) announced by BCCI just a few days back. This will be the first time since 2013 when the Indian Cricket team will play a series with the DRS.
However, some of the features such as HotSpot, the heat-based technology used to detect edges, won’t be included. Even sound and video-centric technologies like “Snicko” or “Ultra Edge: have been exlcuded from the DRS.
There were also reports of the series being under threat due to “financial constraint” of the BCCI, but ECB spokesman put all rumours to rest on Friday saying the series will be held as scheduled.
“We are already in India, there is no change to any plans and we are looking forward to the series against India,” the ECB spokesperson said.
England, who arrived in the sub-continent a bit early, had a successful stint in Bangladesh which will help them get accustomed to the turning tracks. England’s leading test wicket-taker James Anderson will join up with the squad in India after making “encouraging progress” from a shoulder injury, ECB said in a statement on Saturday. The bowling rank will thus get a boost with the arrival of Anderson who didn’t feature in the England Test squad since August.
The No. 1 Test rank badge will surely help India’s confidence in the Test series but let’s not forget what Cook and Co. did back in 2013 series. Cook’s sublime form helped the visiting side clinch the Test series 2-1 as they will look to repeat their performance in the coming series too.
Here’s the England vs India 2016 Fixture:
Tests
Nov 09, Wed – Nov 13, Sun India vs England, 1st Test
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
Nov 17, Thu – Nov 21, Mon India vs England, 2nd Test
Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
Nov 26, Sat – Nov 30, Wed India vs England, 3rd Test
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
Dec 08, Thu – Dec 12, Mon India vs England, 4th Test
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Dec 16, Fri – Dec 20, Tue India vs England, 5th Test
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
ODI
Jan 15, Sun India vs England, 1st ODI
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Jan 19, Thu India vs England, 2nd ODI
Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
Jan 22, Sun India vs England, 3rd ODI
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
T20
Jan 26, Thu India vs England, 1st T20I
Green Park, Kanpur
Jan 29, Sun India vs England, 2nd T20I
Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
Feb 01, Wed India vs England, 3rd T20I
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
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