India Likely To Host New Zealand Before T20 World Cup 2021: Reports

To prepare well for the T20 World Cup 2021, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to add the T20I series against New Zealand ahead of the tournament. Team India has already a jam-packed 2021 with the Asia Cup as well as the 14 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) lined up.

After the completion of the Australia tour, the Men in Blue will take on England in a full-fledged home series, which as  5 T20Is, in February and March. Following this two-month-long IPL is likely to be hosted in India after which India will play a limited-overs series against Sri Lanka then comes the Asia Cup.

In October-November, BCCI will host the T20 World Cup before which India could play New Zealand, who have given a big dent to them during the World Cup 2019 after defeating India in the Semi-final.

So, BCCI is looking to add more T20Is to keep the Indian squad ready for the tournament at home. A BCCI source also revealed that the same was decided in the BCCI Apex Council Meeting, and all the details regarding the venues will be provided in a while.

“The venues and detailing will be done in some time. But the idea is to play maximum T20 games with an eye on the T20 World Cup. It will help the boys prepare,” said the source as quoted by NDTV Sports.

The source further revealed that even some issues regarding the 2016 T20 World Cup that was held in India are still pending as well.

“We are set to host the 2021 T20 World Cup as well as the 50-over World Cup in 2023. We need to speak to the government to see if we can get tax exemption, and for this, we have decided that our secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal will speak to the government. If the government does not agree, we will then decide on how to go about it. We also have the 2016 World T20 matter pending, so that will also have to be worked out,” said the source.

Ajinkya Rahane and co. are likely to return home from Australia soon after the completion of the fourth Test, as BCCI had demanded CA. The England tour will start from February 5 with the first Test in Chennai but the players are likely to gather on January 27 for quarantining.