India to host four teams in the busy upcoming home season - Reports

India are likely to host four international sides in the upcoming 2021-22 and 2022 seasons. They are scheduled to host four Tests, three ODIs and 14 T20Is. In what’s a rarity, they may also host a series in June, which usually sees no cricket due to the monsoons.

According to Sportstar, the BCCI apex council will meet on Monday to ratify the same. India are expected to host New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa between November this year and June next year. They will also tour South Africa in December and January.

New Zealand are likely to play their Tests in Kanpur and Mumbai in November. Bengaluru and Mohali are expected to host the Tests against Sri Lanka in February-March next year. Both series will be crucial for India’s World Test Championship (WTC) fortunes.

India will play three ODIs and three T20Is against the visiting West Indies in February.

South Africa’s ODI series in India was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak in March. A five-T20I series will be held in June 2022 against South Africa after the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) conclusion.

There’s a possibility that the Kanpur Test against New Zealand might be moved to Lucknow at the request of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association.

The apex council will also discuss and finalize the hike in domestic cricketers’ match-fees and compensation to the domestic cricket fraternity for the curtailed 2020-21 season.

India may field a larger pool of cricketers for the busy upcoming season

Citing workload as the reason, Virat Kohli made big calls to step down as India’s T20I captain after the T20 World Cup in November and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain after the completion of IPL 2021.

With a massive amount of cricket being played in the crammed calendar and the bubble life taking its toll, India are expected to field teams from a larger pool of players.

What we witnessed in Sri Lanka in 2021 may become the norm with many younger players getting more opportunities in white-ball formats and the seniors keeping their primary focus on Test cricket.