Looks like an American stopover is unmissable for the Indian team during a Caribbean tour. Like last year, the Indian team will have a couple of Twenty20 Internationals against the West Indies at the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida, this year too.
The two games are the planned add-on matches to the eight-game series that were originally scheduled in the ICC-approved Future Tours Programme (FTP). In all there will be two Tests, three ODIs and five Twenty20 Internationals in July-August.
Cricbuzz on March 25 reported about the two additional games that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) agreed upon during recent ICC meetings in Dubai.
“No to USAC. The CWI is the event host with special commercial relations and arrangements for local operations at the Broward Stadium. This is very similar to how the 2024 World Cup will operate for the US matches,” a CWI official said. A USAC official did not offer a comment.
A similar arrangement was made last year, and they almost got derailed because of visa problems, something this website had highlighted at that time. A last-minute intervention by the President of Guyana averted the looming crisis of that time.
“The visa appointments in Trinidad were messed up beyond our control and, at great cost and inconvenience for all concerned, we had to rearrange to fly those without visas to Guyana, in between the St Kitts and Florida matches. It also included some West Indians,” the CWI official said, throwing light on the matter with the hope that such a last-minute rush will not be required this time around. The two matches were played on August 6 and 7 last year.
India will start the 10-game series with Tests upfront in the second week of July, followed by three ODIs and then five T20Is. From the US, India will travel to Ireland where they have agreed to play three Twenty20Is in the third week of August. Cricbuzz understands that the West Indies tour schedule has been shared with the BCCI and it will be announced once the Indian board gives the go-ahead.
SLC-Sony deal confirmed
Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has confirmed that it has extended its global media rights to broadcast Sri Lanka matches for the next four years until March 2027. Cricbuzz reported about this deal on March 5.
With this deal, starting April 2023, the broadcaster can exclusively televise and live stream globally, the senior men’s matches hosted by SLC during the term of the agreement except Sri Lanka where the broadcaster has only paid television rights.
Source: Cricbuzz
