England’s three-month-long India tour to begin on November 9 with Rajkot Test

New Delhi: Team India’s home series against England will kick-start from November 9 with Rajkot hosting the first of the five Tests between the two teams.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced the full schedule of the series which comprises of five Tests, three ODIs and same number of T20Is.

The English men’s three-month tour to India will conclude in February with the third and final T20I.

After the Tests are played, the ODI series will begin on Januray 15 in Pune and will wrap up in Kolkata.

The visiting team is expected to head back home for Christmas post the Test series and will return for the limited overs leg of the tour.

Here is the full itinerary of the series announced by the Indian Cricket board:

Tests:

1st Test: November 9-13, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

2nd Test: November 17-21, ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam

3rd Test: November 26-30, IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

4th Test: December 8-12, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

5th Test: December 16-20, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

ODIs:

1st ODI: January 15th (D/N), Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium, Pune

2nd ODI: January 19th (D/N), Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

3rd ODI: January 22nd (D/N), Eden Gardens, Kolkata

T20Is:

1st T20I: January 26th, Green Park, Kanpur

2nd T20I: January 29th, Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

3rd T20I: February 1st, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

In 2016-17, India will be playing 13 Test matches, eight One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) at home.

The home season will begin with three Tests and five ODIs against New Zealand in October followed England's tour.

The 2017 season will witness Australia touring India for four Test matches in February and March while Bangladesh is slated to play a solitary Test in India.

The Viral Kohli-led Indian team is currently ranked second on the ICC Test ratings.