West Indies train for India tour in United Arab Emirates after BCCI fails to provide training facilities

The West Indies cricket team is forced to train in Dubai prior to their series against India, after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expressed its inability to provide them with required facilities due to the ongoing domestic season.

File image of Jason Holder and Stuart Law. AFP

The West Indies team was initially scheduled to reach India on 10 September, ahead of their tour that includes two Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is, but will now arrive in the country on 26 September. In the interim, they are training at the ICC Global Academy in the United Arab Emirates, just a quick walk away from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where India are playing their Asia Cup matches.

“We have so many teams this season. To accommodate them at a time when the domestic season has got underway would always be difficult, “ a top BCCI official was quoted as saying by Times of India.

The visitors have been making do with what they have, but have admitted that the circumstances are not ideal. “We tried to get to India but we were told that there weren’t any places available for us. It would have been nice to be in India. There would have been less travel,” West Indies coach Stuart Law said in the same report.

The Vijay Hazare trophy, India's limited-overs domestic competition, is currently underway, leaving several grounds occupied. A total of 37 teams are competing in the domestic tournament, making it difficult for the BCCI to provide the West Indies team with the necessary provisions.

West Indies' tour of India will begin with their first Test match against India at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on 4 October, which will be followed by another Test on 12 October in Hyderabad.

The two Tests will be followed by five One Day International (ODI) matches, with the first match being played in Guwahati on 21 October. The next three matches will be played in Indore, Pune, and Mumbai, before the fifth and final ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on 1 November.

The series will be capped off with three T20Is to be played in Kolkata, Lucknow, and Chennai from 4-11 November.