Providence Stadium to host Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh, the Indian domestic Ranji Trophy champions, will play two one-dayers at the newly built Providence Stadium in Guyana in November, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) confirmed today. The matches will be played on November 7 and 8, before the new Ranji Trophy season commences.

This is the first such instance of the cricket board of another country inviting the team to tour for official matches. "The Indian board had written to us earlier that the Uttar Pradesh team had been invited to play in Guyana", Premdhar Pathak, an official of the UPCA, told Cricinfo. "The Indian government has been involved in the construction of the stadium and these matches will inaugurate the new stadium. The same squad for this year's Ranji Trophy will tour Guyana. We will write to the selection committee later regarding this."

When asked about the possibilities of Guyana touring India on a reciprocal basis, Pathak said that he had not received any information regarding this.

The Providence Stadium will host six matches in the Super Eights stage in next year's World Cup in the West Indies. It is one of the new stadiums being built ahead of the World Cup, and is set to be completed ahead of the organiser's deadline.