Today India, tomorrow the world

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has announced that India could soon be playing home matches at a number of overseas venues as far a field as the USA, Malaysia and England.

The BCCI said that various venues had been looked at. In North America, New York, Houston, Chicago and Toronto were possibilities, as were Birmingham and London in England, as well as grounds in Holland, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. The thing all these locations have in common is that they are in areas with a large number of expats from the Indian subcontinent.

The BCCI raised the possibility of playing overseas while announcing a tender for global media rights for five years for all matches that India play on neutral grounds. The rights comprise all television, radio and internet, and will include the two-match India-Pakistan series in Abu Dhabi April 18 and 19.

"The global media rights tender is intended to streamline the process of match telecasting wherever the Indian team is playing," said Lalit Modi, BCCI vice-president and chairman of its marketing sub-committee. "With the number and quality of matches growing, this streamlining becomes increasingly important."

Modi added that where matches were played in Full Member countries, the broadcasting rights will fall under the jurisdiction of the home board.