India's lone Test against Bangladesh rescheduled to Feb 9
The one-off Test between India and Bangladesh has reportedly been pushed back by one day to February 9th, a BCCI official said on Sunday. The Test will be now played from Feb 9-13 at the Uppal Stadium in Hyderabad with Bangladesh also set to play a practice game against India A from Feb 3.
There was a recent speculation that the solitary Test match between India and Bangladesh in February might be scrapped due to financial problems within the Hyderabad Cricket Association(HCA). However, on Sunday, it has been reported that the match will be played with slight rescheduling. The match will be played from Feb 9-13 instead of the originally scheduled dates of Feb 8-12.
"The Test was originally meant to start on a Wednesday. So we thought it would be better on all fronts if it starts on a Thursday and we could get crowds in for the Test," a BCCI official told ESPNCricinfo.
Bangladesh return from their tour of New Zealand on January 26 and will travel to India on February 1. It was also reported that they would play a 3-day warm-up match against India A from February 3 in Hyderabad.
India are yet to host Bangladesh in a bilateral Test series since their neighbours' Test debut in 2000, while the World's No.1 Test team have toured Bangladesh to play Tests on four occasions with the last solitary Test played in 2015 which ended in a draw.
After the match against Bangladesh, India will prepare for a four-match Test series against Australia which will start on Feb 23 at Pune.