India planning to host day-night Test as part of England tour

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly says "tentative" plans over the schedule have been made but the governing body are biding their time

• India still planning to welcome England in early 2021

Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium is being lined up to host a day-night Test as part of England's tour of India in 2021.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed the venue will stage one of the five-day matches in the new year.

Despite India being the second worst-hit county in the world in terms of coronavirus infections, the governing body have been steadfast in their stance over hosting the tour.

The United Arab Emirates is currently staging the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League.

But the BCCI are hopeful cricket can return to India in time for one of the biggest series on the calendar.

"Ahmedabad will hold the day-night Test," Ganguly said during a book launch.

The ground was opened earlier this year by United States President Donald Trump and has the biggest capacity of any stadium in world cricket at 110,000.

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India have only previously held one day-night Test. Bangladesh were the visitors for a clash in Kolkata in November 2019, when they were defeated by an innings and 46 runs.

As well as Ahmedabad, Dharamsala and Kolkata have been proposed as possible venues for the England series.

Confirmation that the tour will go ahead is not expected for many weeks, with the global pandemic meaning many nations are only committing to tours at late notice.

"We have made some tentative plans but nothing has been decided as of now," added Ganguly. "We still have four months’ time."

This winter is also expected to see India travel to Australia for four Tests and three one-day internationals.

The squads for those series will be announced in due course, according to Ganguly.