Australia v India schedule: Queensland set to host 70 per cent of matches
Queensland’s record of hosting sports events in the COVID era should see it host the majority of matches in India’s Australian tour.
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Queensland is poised to be rewarded for its management of the COVID crisis by snaring hosting rights to 70 per cent of India’s cricket internationals - including a Test - this summer.
The latest draft of the often-changed summer schedule is for Queensland to host three 50-over games and three T20s at the Gabba and Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast in late November to early December.
If approved this would mean Queensland would host seven of India’s 10 internationals this summer.
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The only disappointment for Queensland fans would be that Brisbane is expected to lose hosting rights to the first Test which is Adelaide-bound but Gabba fans could be compensated with the final five-dayer.
The first Test is expected to start on December 17 in Adelaide, before Boxing Day at either the MCG or Adelaide, depending on Melbourne’s COVID-19 status then Sydney and Brisbane.
It has been speculated Sydney could host the last two Tests but that would have been a poor result for the game given the numbingly placid state of the Sydney pitch.
The Indian team will jet to Australian soon after the Indian Premier League ends on November 10 and are likely to quarantine in Brisbane while Australia’s IPL stars head to Adelaide.
Cricket Australia are still at the mercy of the Queensland and South Australian State Governments whose health departments must sign off on quarantine arrangements for the IPL players returning from Dubai.
If there is a change to the schedule which has Queensland hosting all the white ball matches it is likely to be due to unexpected quarantine hurdles but the fact that the Australian and New Zealand women’s cricket teams will play six white matches in Queensland from next week means CA is comfortable granting the state hosting rights.
Queensland has become the safe haven for sports during the COVID era with the AFL, NRL and national netball competitions either basing their entire competitions in the state or at least a huge volume of games.
The Queensland Government has been working with Cricket Australia in a bid to lure the iconic Indian team to Brisbane and it would be a significant victory to lure superstar Indian captain Virat Kohli and his men.
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Though Brisbane will lose the first Test of the summer to India, Queensland officials are not fearful of this becoming a permanent trend because the Gabba has already been guaranteed the opening Test of the Ashes series next year.
The one casualty of the schedule appears to be the one-off Test against Afghanistan which sounded like a good idea for global development when it was slated at the end of T20 World Cup. But the postponement of that tournament and the huge cost of COVID protocols sapped enthusiasm for the project and it is now likely to be shelved.