India v Australia 2019: Mohali, Delhi ODIs expected to be relocated due to the ongoing India-Pakistan tension
What's the story?
The fourth and fifth of the five-match ODI series against Australia is scheduled to be relocated elsewhere due to the building tensions between India and Pakistan, in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack. The fourth and fifth one-dayers were slated to be played at Mohali and Delhi respectively, but it now looks like the series timetable will face some adjustment.
In case you didn't know...
Over the last week, matters between two rival nations in India and Pakistan have reached the boiling point, as a tit-for-tat display of vengeance has been brought out to the world from both parties.
It started with the suicide bombing in Pulwama that led to the death of over 40 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) soldiers, carried on with a surgical strike that, according to sources in India, destroyed three terror-emitter camps in Pakistan. The latest update, however, was the capture of one IAF (Indian Air Force) pilot, who is supposedly under the opponent's custody.
The heart of the matter
Mohali is a stadium that shares land with the Indian Air Force base. The ground is also located directly in its flight path. Being one of the most unique grounds across the landscape, Mohali possesses the shortest light towers in India; probably 18 of those - which could disrupt the base camp's activities.
While the ODI in Mohali is to be played on the 10th of March, the final one is Delhi will be held on 13th. Kolkata and Bangalore are being identified as replacements, with the latter also playing as host in the high-scoring T20 game.
KSCA are apparently happy to serve the purpose once again for this tour. With the grounds asked to be prepared, the final decision will be taken before day after tomorrow.
What's next?
For now, as far as India are concerned, the prime focus will be to reassemble and start the ODI series on a positive note after having lost their first T20I series on home soil under the stewardship of Virat Kohli.
The first of the five ODIs will commence on 2nd March at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.