West Indies tour game set to be shifted from Cuttack

Incessant rains are likely to deal a double-blow to cricket fans in Cuttack: the fifth ODI between India and Australia is set to be washed out, and now the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) is likely to lose out on hosting West Indies' three-day tour game, starting from October 31.

It is understood that OCA secretary Asirbad Behera and president Ranjib Biswal have already communicated their association's inability to host West Indies' match against Uttar Pradesh to the BCCI officials, ahead of the two-Test series beginning in Kolkata on November 6. While accepting the OCA's request since "the outfield won't be ready in time for the game", the BCCI has zeroed in on Mumbai as the venue for the warm-up tie.

Though the Mumbai Cricket Association hasn't been formally informed about the change in venue, the decision will be finalised during the BCCI working committee meeting in Chennai on Saturday. Both the MCA vice-presidents Ravi Savant and Vijay Patil will attend the working committee meet, with Savant showing up as the BCCI vice-president, while Patil as the MCA representative.

Despite the Wankhede Stadium being unable to stage the game less than two weeks prior to the start of the Test match, three more venues in Mumbai can stage the warm-up match. It would be interesting to see if the match is allotted to Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium or the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium on the outskirts of the city, with MCA's facility at Bandra-Kurla Complex also being in contention. CCI was promised an allotment of matches by BCCI president N Srinivasan during the AGM in September, while Patil, the architect of DY Patil stadium, has been pushing for hosting more games in Navi Mumbai.