India tour of Australia 2020: Mark Taylor expresses concerns around Australia-India Boxing Day Test

Australia-India Boxing Day Test: Former Australian captain wants the iconic Test to be played in front of spectators.

With numerous series getting postponed around the globe, there is no hiding to the fact that India’s tour of Australia later this year is undoubtedly among the most looked-forwarded cricketing contests this year.

A primary reason behind the same is that the Cricket Australia has expressed keen interest in hosting India unlike other tournament whose future remains uncertain till date.

Going by Australia’s fixtures for the summer (subject to change), India will play three T20Is before the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 and follow the world event with four Tests and three ODIs.

Australia-India Boxing Day Test

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has opened up on the prospect of shifting the Australia-India Boxing Day Test to another venue citing the threat caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria.

“If you look at what’s happening around Australia, by Christmas time the MCG may only be able to host 10,000-20,000 people, which is not going to look great when you’ve got a real iconic Test match,” Taylor was quoted as saying by Nine’s Sports on Sunday.

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In the recent past, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison had allowed the inclusion of up to 10,000 spectators sports stadiums. While the same is likely to increase in the future, Taylor doesn’t wish to witness an iconic Test with minimal crowd and subsequently opened up on the possibility of playing the match at some other venue.

“You move that match to Optus Stadium or even the Adelaide Oval, you’re going to get full venues. The Adelaide Oval and Optus Stadium will be working hard to try and get that game because they would look better with full crowds,” Taylor said with respect to proving alternatives for the Boxing Day Test.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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