The Test matches of the India-England series being played behind closed doors. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association informers its members that no crowds would be allowed in the MA Chidambaram stadium. Recently Indian government allows that outdoor sport could be conducted with 50% spectators of the total capacity of the stadium. however, The TNCA overlooks the rule and does not allow any spectators in the Matches.
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Chennai is hosting the first 2 Test matches of the 4 Test series. The matches are scheduled to start from 5 to 9 February and 13-17 February. After that, both of the teams will travel to Ahmedabad for the last 2 matches, to be played at Motera stadium. 3rd matches will be played under lights and scheduled from 24-28 February and the 4th match will be played from 4 to 8 March.
The England Tour of India includes 4 Test matches, five T20I matches(Played is Ahmedabad), and three ODI matches(In Pune). This is the first International cricket tour hosted in India after the covid-19 pandemic. Currently, India ranks 2nd globally in the team of total covid-19 infections reported, and those numbers are increasing slowly.
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On January 20 the TNCA secretary R Ramaswamy sent a circular to the association’s members saying the decision to bar crowds was taken in unison with the BCCI as a
“preventive measure”. “In view of the prevailing Covid pandemic, BCCI has decided not to take any kind of risk with the safety of the players during the forthcoming India-England Test series,” Ramaswamy said. “As per BCCI directive, the first two Test matches will take place behind closed doors (No Spectators/Guests/Sub-Committee Members) as a preventive measure.”
Despite the TNCA decision, Gujarat Cricket Association, which runs the Motera ground, remained optimistic about opening some section of the ground for the crowds. The Motera ground was inaugurated by former Us President Donald Trump. This stadium has an overall capacity of 110,000 it is the biggest-capacity ground in the cricket world. The officials of the Gujarat Cricket Association said that subject to the permission of India and Gujarat state government, if not half, at least tickets could be sold to fill the stadium to at least 20-30% capacity.
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Both of the squads are scheduled to land in Chennai by January 27 and directly enter a biosecure bubble. After an initial Three-day quarantine the teams would start their training while undergoing regular testing.