The BCCI has turned down Cricket Association of Bengal’s (CAB) plea to reschedule two of its domestic cricket matches at home due to the looming threat of Cyclone Dana.
According to sources, the CAB requested the national cricket board to reschedule their upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Kerala, scheduled for October 26 in Kolkata, due to the threat posed by Cyclone Dana in West Bengal.
The Bengal senior team’s recent matches have already been affected by weather disruptions. Their previous match against Bihar on October 18 was abandoned without a single ball being bowled due to inclement weather. Before that, their encounter with Uttar Pradesh ended in a draw on October 11.
The BCCI has kept a slightly longer gap between matches for this season, which might have prompted the CAB to request a reschedule.
Accordingly, the CAB had also asked to defer the Under-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy match against Railways, set to take place in Kalyani from October 27-30, by a couple of days, citing precautionary measures as the region braces for the cyclone’s impact.
Once the Bengal versus Kerala clash finishes on October 29, they will have almost a week before their next match, starting on November 6 in Bengaluru against Karnataka. The same will apply for Kerala who will travel back home, to Thumba, for their fourth-round fixture to host Uttar Pradesh from November 6.
Similarly, for the Under-23 side, their next fixture will be from November 8 to 11 in Nagpur against Vidarbha, which also means a week’s gap.
The Bengal senior side will be without Abhimanyu Easwaran, Abhishek Porel and Mukesh Kumar for the next couple of rounds of the Ranji Trophy as they’ve been picked for the India A side for the shadow tour of Australia.