India’s first T20Is against Bangladesh, which was to be played on October 6 in Dharamsala, has been shifted to Gwalior, while the venues of the first and second T20Is of England’s India tour, in January 2025, have been swapped. The first encounter will played at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, followed by the second at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. The dates of the encounters, however, remain unchanged.
The BCCI confirmed the development on August 13 through a release, stating that the “venue change was necessitated following a request from Kolkata Police to the Cricket Association of Bengal regarding their prior Republic Day commitments and obligations.” Originally, Chennai was set to host the first T20I on January 22 and Kolkata on January 25.
As for the amendment in the scheduling of the Bangladesh series, the board confirmed that the shift from Dharamsala to Gwalior is due to “upgrades and renovation work being carried out by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association in the dressing rooms”.
The India-Bangladesh T20I series opener will be the inaugural game at the newly-built Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket, and the first in the Madhya Pradesh city since Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic ODI double hundred – the first-ever in the format’s history – against South Africa in 2010.
India are due to kickstart a long home season comprising of five Tests, three ODIs and eight T20Is, spread across a span of five months. The season commences with the two-Test series against Bangladesh, followed by three T20Is, from September 19 to October 12. They host New Zealand for three Tests from October 16 to November 5 before travelling to Australia for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is set to run from November 22 to January 7.
India will resume action at home against England through a five-T20I series, followed by three ODIs, with the fixtures set from January 22 to February 12. The three 50-over encounters against England are the only games in the lead-up to the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.