By: Tarish Bhatt
After getting the Test match status, Pune was kept on stand-bye mode in place of Delhi, which is supposed to host the 4th Test match between India and South Africa.
But now it’s emerging that the Maharashtra Cricket Association may get to host a Test match involving Australia next year.
According to BCCI sources, a meeting to discuss the matter will happen next year, but it is given to understand that Pune’s chance to host a Test may become a reality.
Sources also revealed that BCCI is inviting England and New Zealand, apart from Australia to play around 12 Test matches at home.
According to the bilateral agreement with the BCCI, even Bangladesh are also supposed to tour India for a one-off Test match. But the board couldn’t give much clarity on that.
If a Test match against Bangladesh happens, India could play as many as 13 Tests at home in the next cricket season.
“To host so many matches, the board needed more Test venues. That is why six Test centres were added to the list,” a source close to the development told Drcricket7.
Besides Pune, Ranchi, Indore, Visakhapatnam, Dharamsala and Rajkot are the other five venues, which have been added to the list of existing 10 Test venues (Kolkata, Delhi, Kanpur, Mohali, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur).
