England's Mumbai practice match venue changed

England's second practice match, originally scheduled at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) Cricket ground, has been shifted to DY Patil Cricket Stadium in Mumbai.

According to Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI chief administrative officer, the venue change for the match in the first week of November came at the request of the local organisers, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). "The ECB team had done a recce and were happy but the MCA wanted the venue to be shifted and that has been approved," Shetty said.

The MCA had requested a shift in the venue citing security issues at the BKC ground, but the BCCI had rejected it. In the end, the MCA president Ravi Savant met the BCCI chief N Srinivasan and explained the reasons for MCA's concerns, after which the venue change was accepted.

"I don't know how that match was scheduled at BKC," Savant said. "But once the match is given to the association, it is our prerogative to hold the match anywhere we want. When we came to know about the ECB officials inspecting the facilities at the BKC Ground, we immediately wrote to the Board about considering the DY Patil Stadium as an option. The BCCI president was magnanimous in agreeing to shift the match to DY Patil during the meeting. And, within five minutes it was decided. The Mumbai Police had also raised some concerns regarding security."

Savant said that the England board had reservations regarding the choice of the venue too. "The fence around the ground is too low, so anyone can enter the playing area. There are high-rise buildings around. There are no basic facilities like toilets, a cafeteria and seating arrangements for public. So, the best option was to shift the match to the DY Patil Stadium which is a tried and tested venue."