The third Test match between India and Australia of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series is likely to be shifted out of Dharamsala to some other venue. The match is scheduled to be played from March 1 to March 5. The reason behind the change of venue is that the stadium is not yet fit to host international cricket after a recent renovation.
It is understood that BCCI curator Taposh Chatterjee visited the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium to inspect the pitch and the outfield. He will submit his report to the top brass of the BCCI for a final call.
"There are certain BCCI parameters that one needs to fit in in order to host the match. No competitive game has been played on this ground and also the outfield isn't ready," a senior BCCI source said.
The BCCI has already shortlisted a backup venue to replace Dharamsala. The list includes Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru, Indore, Rajkot and Pune.
While 16 days are left for the match to begin, the outfield is still not ready, it has bald areas and forecast of rain in next few days could also halt the work under progress.
"We have told that given a chance we would like to host the game but it's up to the BCCI to decide. The curator's report would be based on parameters," a HPCA source privy to development said.
A Test in Dharamsala is one of the most awaited matches also a destination ideal for cricket tourism. The last time an international game was played in Dharamsala was back in February of the previous year during T20I between India and Sri Lanka. Ticket sales have not been started for the last two Test matches.
Full Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja
Australia: Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
