Former India captain and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has said that the team playing five Tests against Australia as opposed to the traditional four-match series will not be possible. He was responding to Cricket Australia’s desire to hold five Test matches instead of four in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.
“I don’t think it will be possible for India to participate in five Tests. There will be limited-overs games and plus we have to consider the 14-day quarantine guidelines. All this will extend the tour,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by a daily, adding that it is difficult to add another match because of time constraints.
Cricket Australia, which is banking on the series worth around AUD 300 million, is under huge financial pressure due to the global lockdown and halting of sports activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cricket body had suggested adding a fifth Test to the series which is scheduled to be held in December and January.
Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts had earlier termed their relationship with the BCCI as “strong”, and hoped the additional Test match could be a possibility.
“We’ve discussed a shared desire to evolve to five-Test series between Australia and India in the future. It’s something we’ve both committed to in principle in the future, the big question is whether or not we can bring that in before the next future tours cycle in 2023.
“We don’t know what prospect there is of that next season, but certainly with a changing landscape...we won’t rule out a possibility of that until we get closer to the time,” he added as he spoke to reporters on video call in April.
Team India will be playing four Tests and three ODIs against Australia. They will undergo a 14-day quarantine in Australia as per new rules in the wake of COVID-19 before the series.