Venues for Australia Tests switched

India's cricket authorities have switched the venues for the second and third Tests of the forthcoming series against Australia.

"We will hold the second Test in Calcutta and the third in Madras rather than the other way around. This is to avoid logistics problems," Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jaywant Lele said on Saturday.

The dates for the matches remain unchanged, he added.

Australia arrive in India on February 14 for an itinerary featuring three tests and five one-day internationals. They will also play two three-day games against local sides before the first test starts in Bombay on February 27.

"We felt it would be better if the teams travelled from Bombay to Calcutta and then moved towards the south of the country to Madras and then to Bangalore for the first one-dayer," Lele said.

Revised itinerary:

Feb 17-19: three-day match, Baroda
Feb 22-24: three-day match, Bombay
Feb 27-March 3: first Test, Bombay
March 6-8: three-day match, New Delhi
March 11-15: second Test, Calcutta
March 18-22: third Test, Madras
March 25: first one-dayer, Bangalore
March 28: second one-dayer, Pune
March 31: third one-dayer, Indore
April 3: fourth one-dayer, Visakapatnam
April 6: fifth one-dayer, Goa

Mail Cricket Editor