The The Board of Control for Cricket in India is reportedly planning to host a pink-ball Test match in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. India have only hosted two pink-ball Test matches at home against Bangladesh in Kolkata and against England in Ahmedabad.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to tour India for two Test matches and three T20Is. The Test series, is set to commence on March 25 in Bengaluru while the second and final game of the series will be played in Mohali. As per report in TOI, BCCI is planning to host the pink-ball Test in Bengaluru as Mohali is unlikely to get hosting rights of the day-night Test as there are chances to dew being a crucial factor.
“There is a chance that the first two T20Is to start the tour will be played in Dharamshala before the series moves to Mohali for the third T20I and the first Test. Lucknow may miss out on hosting a T20I. Having the pink ball Test in Mohali is difficult since dew is expected to play a big role. However, BCCI is still monitoring the Covid-19 situation in the country. A final call to tweak the schedule will be taken soon,” BCCI source said.
However, Sri Lanka Cricket wants BCCI to tweak the schedule and hosts the T20I series ahead of the Test match to make it convenient for the players to shift from one bubble to another. “Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has requested BCCI to play the T20I series first instead of the Test matches. The Sri Lankan team will be playing a T20I series against Australia before coming to India. It will be convenient for them to send a team which will be already in a bubble,” a BCCI official said.