India's tour of Zimbabwe likely to go ahead as planned

The tour of Zimbabwe seems likely to go ahead

After reports that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had decided to call off India’s tour of Zimbabwe, it has now emerged that the tour is likely to go ahead as planned with a second-string squad set to be announced for the series that will consist of three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two T20 internationals. The two concerned boards are expected to issue a formal statement confirming the same sometime this week with discussions currently taking place on the sidelines of the ICC annual conference in Barbados.

“They are still talking. It should be fine. We are making progress,” an official told ESPN Cricinfo.

While the BCCI reportedly wanted to call off the tour citing players’ fatigue as the primary reason, the fact is that they were not pleased with the broadcasting rights of the series resting with Ten Sports as they are owned by the Essel Group. The Essel Group have been reportedly planning to start their own league, much to the displeasure of the ICC who set up a three-man emergency committee to look into the issue.

However, Ten Sports has claimed that they have never had any indications that the tour won’t go ahead as planned. A Ten Sports spokesperson revealed: “We have not heard anything from Zimbabwe Cricket which points out the tour is not happening. We speak to them every day.” Further demonstrating that everything is on track, Ten Sports aired a promotional advertisement for the series on Wednesday.

Though the BCCI has not made any official comment on the issue, the squad for the tour is likely to be announced on June 29.