West Indies Tour of India: BCCI Announces Venues for Tests, ODIs and T20I

West Indies will play three Tests, Five ODIs & One T20 in india later this year.

The BCCI Tours and Fixtures Committee has shortlisted Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad for India's three-Test series against the West Indies during October and November this year.
The committee has allotted the five ODIs to Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Cuttack, Dharamsala and Kochi while Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla will be hosting its first ever T20 International.

The exact date-wise match-schedule will be finalised later on the basis of logistics. As per media reports Ranchi was being dubbed as a possible venue for a Test match but a senior BCCI official said that there was no discussion on the venue. "Yes, Ranchi has got the ICC nod and BCCI needs to ratify it as a Test centre during a working committee meeting.
But above everything, Ranchi needs to come into the rotation policy system which is in work. How could we have allotted Ranchi a match when there are other centres with valid claims of hosting a Test as per rotation policy," the source told PTI.

Eden Gardens and Dharamsala hosted their last one-dayers in December 2012 (vs Pakistan) and January 2013 (vs England) respectively. For Kotla, it will be the first T20 International that the ground will host, having staged its first ODI back in 1982. Ravi Jain, BCCI's deputy head of media committee and media convenor of DDCA, said that the association is ready to host the match. "We will leave no stone unturned to make this T20 International a grand success," Jain said

Raj Singh Dungarpur was More Than A Father Figure, Says Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar remembered former BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur's big role in shaping up his cricket career.

"Rajbhai has played an immense role in making me the cricketer that I am and giving me the opportunities that I had in my life," sachin said at the book launch 'Raj Singh Dungarpur A Tribute'.


Dungarpur was BCCI's president for three years from 1996, served as the chairman of the national selection committee (including when Tendulkar was first picked in the Indian team in 1989), and was also the Indian team manager on several tours, including the victorious trip to England in 1986.

It was Dungarpur who was instrumental in amending the rules of the CCI to allow Tendulkar use its dressing room as a 14-year-old, making things smooth for the champion batsman very early in his glittering career."I was only 13 years old and CCI was playing against Shivaji Park youngsters and I scored some runs. Under 18 were not allowed to be in the dressing room.

(Pic Source: PTI/ANI)

"I didn't have deep pockets and Rajbhai was again instrumental in finding a sponsor for me. He said in his own style 'you should play cricket and leave the rest to me'. With that kind of support and encouragement, all you want to do is score as many runs as possible," Tendulkar said.