Lucknow to host a test match after 28 long years : IND vs NZ

Lucknow is all set to host a Test match after a period of 28 years. India will compete in one of the two-Test matches against the touring New Zealand side at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Lucknow.

The only Test hosted by Lucknow took place at the KDS Babu Stadium in 1994 against Sri Lanka. The new stadium in Lucknow, named after India’s former Prime Minister, was opened for first-class cricket in 2016.

A senior BCCI official told the Times of India that BCCI is planning to provide international exposure to Lucknow before new franchises are decided for the Indian Premier League (IPL). This makes sense since more the international exposure, more will be fans of that particular team. It was observed that most of the fans in IPL are of metropolitan cities since people associate themselves with the city. With Lucknow featuring in the news often in the coming period, fans will be interested in following the franchise named after Lucknow.

One of the BCCI officials told Times of India,

The stadium has good facilities and a capacity of nearly 70, 000. That’s a good deal for any IPL franchise. Like Ahmedabad, it’s important to give Lucknow exposure to marquee international matches before the IPL teams are finalized. Lucknow was also shortlisted as a venue for the T20 World Cup had it happened in India

Lucknow is the most probable candidate for one of the two new franchises set to be introduced for the 2022 season of the IPL.

New Zealand Tour of India

New Zealand are scheduled to travel to India in November, after the T20 World Cup. The World Test Championship winners will play three T20Is in addition to Test matches.

The series will start off with the T20 matches, followed by two Test matches. The last time India and New Zealand played against each other in the longest format of the game was in the final of the World Test Championship where the latter emerged victorious. India will be looking to make it even with the Kiwis in this series.

New Zealand haven’t played Tests in India since 2016. The last time they traveled to India was in 2017 for a white-ball tour.

Meanwhile,Colin de Grandhomme, who was in the news and interviews also due to his exotic hairstyle, has cut off his mullet. de Grandhomme is one of the two senior players left out from the New Zealand T20 World Cup Squad.The other is Ross Taylor, who recently spearheaded the WTC Final victory against India along with Kane Williamson.