India men’s teams will begin the scheduled Test series in Australia with a match at the Gabba, Brisbane as Cricket Australia, confident of hosting a safe and successful summer, announced its 2020-’21 men’s and women’s international schedule on Thursday.
India men’s team will play three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs in a period stretching from October to January next year while the women’s teams will face off in a three-match ODI series in January.
Indian men’s scheduled T20I series is expected to be followed by the T20 World Cup, the likelihood of which going ahead is slim owing to the pandemic. The CA did not mention the event in its official schedule unveiled on Thursday.
On Wednesday, ESPNCricinfo reported that Virat Kohli and Co are set to play a day-night Test for the first time Down Under in Adelaide. That is yet to be confirmed by CA.
In a move that will please Australian camp, the four-match Test series is scheduled to start in the first week of December at Gabba which has been a fortress for the hosts since 1988. India did not play the traditional curtain-raiser for Australia’s summer during the 2018-’19 series and captain Tim Paine had quipped in November last year that he would certainly love to play Kohli’s team at the venue, provided the Indian captain gave it the go ahead.
The anticipated arrival of superpower India to play the Australian men’s teams across all formats, as well as the return of Australia’s all-conquering women’s team, are among the highlights scheduled for this summer, according to the CA.
“While acknowledging the difficulty in navigating a global pandemic, we are nonetheless encouraged by the progress Australia is making in combatting the coronavirus and the positive impact that is having on our ability to host an exciting summer of cricket in 2020-’21,” Kevin Roberts, Cricket Australia CEO, said.
“We know that circumstances or events beyond our control could mean that the final schedule potentially may look different to the one released today, but we’ll be doing everything we can to get as much international cricket in as possible this summer. We will communicate any changes to the schedule if or when they are required,” he added.
CA, meanwhile, remained confident of delivering a full summer of cricket.
“We are engaged in ongoing discussions with federal and state governments, our venues and the touring nations to continually understand and monitor the situation in front of us, which is evolving every day. We’ll continue to act in accordance with public health advice and government protocols to ensure the safety of the public, players and support staff,” Roberts said.
“We are working closely with the BCCI to deliver the eagerly anticipated men’s and women’s tours,” he added.
The series is reported to be crucial to the financial health of CA, which has had to stand down staff to handle cost of operations in the wake of the pandemic. According to reports, CA stands to earn up to 300 million Australian dollars from the tour by India.
India’s matches scheduled for the Australian summer:
Men’s T20I Series against India
Australia v India at the Gabba, Brisbane (October 11)
Australia v India at Manuka Oval, Canberra (October 14)
Australia v India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (October 17)
Men’s Test Series against India
Australia v India at the Gabba, Brisbane (December 3- 7)
Australia v India at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (December 11 - 15)
Boxing Day Test, Australia v India at the MCG, Melbourne (December 26 - 30)
Pink Test, Australia v India at the SCG, Sydney (January 3 - 7)
Men’s ODI Series against India
Australia v India at Perth Stadium, Perth (January 12)
Australia v India at the MCG, Melbourne (January 15)
Australia v India at the SCG, Sydney (January 17)
Women’s ODI Series against India
Australia v India at Manuka Oval, Canberra (January 22)
Australia v India at Junction Oval, St Kilda (January 25)
Australia v India at Blundstone Arena, Hobart (January 28)
Other matches scheduled for Australia’s upcoming summer:
Men’s Test Series against Afghanistan
Standalone Test, Australia v Afghanistan at Perth Stadium, Perth (November 21-25)
Men’s ODI Series against Zimbabwe
Australia v Zimbabwe at TBA (August 9)
Australia v Zimbabwe at TBA (August 12)
Australia v Zimbabwe at Riverway Stadium, Townsville (August 15)
Women’s T20I Series against New Zealand
Australia v New Zealand at North Sydney Oval, North Sydney (September 27)
Australia v New Zealand at North Sydney Oval, North Sydney (September 29)
Australia v New Zealand at North Sydney Oval, North Sydney (October 1)
Women’s ODI Series against New Zealand
Australia v New Zealand at Riverway Stadium, Townsville (October 5)
Australia v New Zealand at Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns (October 7)
Australia v New Zealand at Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (October 10)
Men’s T20I Series against West Indies
Australia v West Indies at Riverway Stadium, Townsville (October 4)
Australia v West Indies at Cazaly’s Stadium Cairns (October 6)
Australia v West Indies at Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (October 9)
Men’s ODI & T20I Series against New Zealand
Australia v New Zealand ODI at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (January 26)
Australia v New Zealand ODI at Manuka Oval, Canberra (January 29)
Australia v New Zealand ODI at Blundstone Arena, Hobart (January 31)
Australia v New Zealand T20 at the SCG, Sydney (February 2)
(Details of the Australia - Zimbabwe ODI series scheduled in August will be confirmed later.)
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