India-WI 2nd Test Moved to New Delhi; Kolkata to Host India-SA 1st Test in November

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced a venue change for the upcoming men’s Test series. The second Test between India and the West Indies, originally scheduled to be held at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens from October 10–14, will now take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

In a reciprocal change, the first Test of the India-South Africa series, set for November 14–18, has been shifted from New Delhi to Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The rest of the international men’s cricket schedule remains unchanged, according to the BCCI.

The decision to move the India-South Africa Test out of Delhi follows concerns regarding air quality during that period. The match was scheduled just three weeks after Diwali, a time when Delhi and surrounding regions often experience severe smog and pollution.

This concern isn’t new—during a 2017 Test match in Delhi, several Sri Lankan players were seen wearing face masks due to the poor air. Similar worries were raised before the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Delhi, with both teams even cancelling their training sessions due to high pollution levels.

In related updates, New Delhi will also host the third and final ODI of the India-Australia women’s series. Originally scheduled to be played in Chennai, the entire series was moved due to renovation work at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The first two ODIs will now be played at the newly built PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh—marking the venue’s debut in hosting women’s international cricket. New Delhi, meanwhile, will return to hosting women’s ODI matches for the first time since 1985 and 1995.

Additionally, the BCCI announced that the three one-day matches between India ‘A’ and South Africa ‘A’, scheduled from November 13–19, will now take place at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, instead of Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, the two multi-day games between the same teams will proceed as planned at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

With inputs from IANS