Nagpur to host India-England youth Tests

The two Under-19 Tests between India and England originally supposed to be held in Tamil Nadu have been relocated to Nagpur.

The four-day matches, starting on February 13 and 21, will follow five youth ODIs in Mumbai. Wankhede stadium will host the first, fourth and fifth 50-over matches on January 30, February 6 and February 8 while the Cricket Club of India will host the remaining games on February 1 and 3.

The confusion around this tour began two weeks ago when the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which was meant to host the two youth Tests, expressed its inability to do so because of "domestic programs".

On January 7, the TNCA had sent a letter to the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri asking to be excused from hosting duties. "We have a heavy backlog of matches because of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and the Vardah cyclone," RA Palani, the joint-secretary and interim caretaker of the TNCA, was quoted as saying in the Hindu.

"We have to conduct the TNCA first division matches, lower division games and inter-university matches. We need grounds to hold our own matches. At a time like this, it will be extremely hard for us to take the responsibility for two under-19 Tests."

It is learnt the BCCI had checked with the Vidarbha Cricket Association last week about whether they would be ready to host the matches and had received a favourable reply immediately. Both youth Tests will take place at the VCA stadium in Nagpur.