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With COVID-19 continuing to wreak havoc, governments are being forced to alter their plans. Coping with the turn of events, Cricket Australia on Monday announced the new venues for the multi-format series between India and Australia. The board has managed to make arrangements for the series to take place in Queensland. The three ODIs will be played at one venue, while the only Test and the three T20Is will be played at the other venue decided by CA.
Amidst the challenges posed by border restrictions and COVID-19, Cricket Australia has been compelled to choose Queensland as the designated host. “We have been monitoring the situation across the country and it is clear that the current COVID challenges prevent the original schedule from proceeding as initially planned. We are incredibly grateful to the Queensland government for agreeing to quarantine the Australian and Indian players and enabling this important series to be played in Queensland,” said Nick Hockley, CEO, Cricket Australia.
The two venues that have been selected to host a total of 7 games are Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, and Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast. The three ODIs will be played in Mackay. After that, the caravan will move to Gold Coast for the only Test and the three T20Is.
The quarantine rules suggest that the players based in New South Wales and Victoria, as well as the Indian team, will serve a two-week quarantine period in Brisbane on Monday, with the remainder of the Australia squad to regroup as the series start nears.
The revised fixture
1st ODI: 21 September; Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (Day)
2nd ODI: 24 September; Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (Day-night)
3rd ODI: 26 September; Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay (Day)
One-off Test: 30 September- 3 October; Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (Day-night)
1st T20I: 7 October; Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (Night)
2nd T20I: 9 October; Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (Night)
3rd T20I: Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (Night)
This will be the first time after the ICC Women's T20 World Cup final that India and Australia will play each other. In their last face-off, Australia had registered an emphatic victory by 85 runs. Also, India will be playing their first-ever day-night Test in their cricketing history on this tour.