Upset BCCI affiliates question choice of venues for England tour

New Delhi: Not all the state associations seem to be happy with the venues chosen for England's upcoming tour of India, and some aggrieved cricket administrators in the state associations are linking it to this month's elections of the Indian cricket board. Even Indian cricket board president Sourav Ganguly's home state, Bengal, has questioned him on why it wasn't allotted any of the 12 matches that will be played in February-March.

A "shocked" Mumbai said it was "extremely unexpected" at being ignored completely. On the other hand, Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) will host seven of the 12 matches in Ahmedabad.

Pune, a very surprising choice, will host all three One-day Internationals while Chennai -- Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's president Rupa Meiyappan is the daughter of former BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) chief N. Srinivasan -- will host two of the four Tests. The other two Tests will be staged in Ahmedabad, along with all the five T20 Internationals.

The GCA, which will host a an unprecedented seven matches, is the home association of BCCI secretary Jay Shah, though he doesn't hold any position in it now.

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is the other affiliate of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that is "shocked" to find the city being ignored for the February 5-March 28 tour of England, especially as no Test has been staged in the city for four years.

Interestingly, Ganguly had hinted on September 28 that Mumbai and Kolkata could host the England matches, though at the time there were still some doubts about the tour materialising due to the Covid pandemic. But it was certain that if the tour went ahead, matches would be played in a bio-secure bubble, either in India or in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as the BCCI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) for cooperation.

While Cricket Association Bengal (CAB) president Avishek Dalmiya said he has asked Ganguly directly, MCA executive committee member Nadeem Memon, speaking on behalf of panel colleagues, has requested MCA president Vijay Patil to let them know "the reasons" for Mumbai not getting a single match.

Memon also referred to Ganguly's comments on September 28. Ganguly, a former CAB president, had made those comments soon after signing the MoU with the ECB.