Indian cricket team tour of Australia announced, schedule revealed
The Indian cricket team will be a part of the Australian summer this year, with the squad playing four Tests in the country starting in December this year.
The Australian Test summer is all set to begin on November 21 with a Test match against Afghanistan that will take place in Perth. That game will be followed by the Indian cricket team’s Test series against Australia that will commence with the first of four Tests in Gabba, Brisbane.
The second Test of the Indian cricket team’s tour Down Under will be a day-night affair at the Adelaide Oval and will start on December 11. This will be followed by the Boxing Day Test on December 26 at the MCG, and the final match of the series will begin on January 3, 2021.
The Test series will be preceded by a 3-match T20I from October 11-17, before a 3-match ODI series from January 12-17 rounds up the Indian cricket team’s tour of the country.
Virat Kohli's men last played competitively earlier this year when they lost a Test series 2-0 in New Zealand. The Indian cricket team will be looking to bounce back from that performance with a strong showing in Australia.
Test series against Indian cricket team could be main event, according to Fox Sports Head
Peter Campbell, Head of Fox Sports, believes that the Test series between the two cricketing giants will be the main event of the summer, with Virat Kohli and Steve Smith taking centre stage.
“Three T20’s, Three ODI’s, a 4 Test Series against India – Smith v Kohli, the two top ranked Test players from two of the top ranked Test Nations head to head on Australian soil. What a Main Event,” Campbell stated.
Cricket Australia (CA) released the complete schedule for both the men’s and women’s cricket teams’ summer through a statement on their website. Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Cricket Australia, suggested that the organisation was working extra hard to stage both the men’s and women’s series against both New Zealand and the Indian cricket team, along with the games against Afghanistan and the West Indies.
“We are working closely with the BCCI to deliver the eagerly anticipated men’s and women’s tours, and we are looking forward to staging the important series against both the men’s and women’s New Zealand sides. These are in addition to the scheduled men’s Test against Afghanistan and a T20 series against West Indies,” Kevin Roberts said.
In addition to the matches already mentioned, we will also see the Australian team face off against Zimbabwe in a three-match series in August. The final details of the series will be confirmed soon, as per the CA’s conversation with relevant stakeholders.
While the schedule is confirmed, CA did suggest that changes could be made to it as and when required if the need arises. Cricket, however, is set to finally return for the Indian cricket team later this year.