England cricket officials have asked their Indian counterparts to consider making venue changes for England's tour of India next year.
England are scheduled to play Tests in Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Mumbai but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) wants at least one of the first two matches to be switched to a bigger city.
During the nearly two-month long tour, which starts in the last week of February, England will also play seven one-day internationals and the ECB has requested different venues for some of those encounters for logistical reasons.
"We have told them that, out of 10 matches, it is disappointing to be visiting only one out of Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Calcutta and Delhi," ECB director of operations John Carr told reporters.
"We feel it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement with all those England supporters back in England champing at the bit to tour India and that they would enjoy the tour much more if the match venues are attractive to them."
The seven one-dayers, being played between Apr. 4 and 22, are scheduled to be staged at Indore, Goa, Guwahati, Faridabad, Cuttack, Kochi and Visakhapatnam.
However, the ECB believes travel between the one-day venues could prove troublesome and is trying to limit "arduous travel to reasonable constraints".
CHANGES MADE
Carr hopes changes can be made to England's proposed tour itinerary before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) next meets on Nov. 30.
However, the main sticking point is the BCCI's rota for match allocation, which features nine test venues and 22 one-day grounds. Indian officials said last week that any changes to the England tour schedule were unlikely.
"They only depart from their rota for exceptional reasons," Carr said. "We think there are some quite exceptional reasons from our perspective, particularly in terms of logistics in the one-day series.
"We think there are some quite exceptional reasons from our perspective, particularly in terms of logistics in the one-day series.
"We will be writing to the BCCI to confirm the details of those points prior to their meeting and ask them to consider the points that we raise.
"They made it very clear to us that the itinerary cannot be confirmed until their next board meeting on November 30, so the itinerary is not confirmed."
Carr and Richard Bevan, a representative of the England players' association, have already met with BCCI officials, including former president Jagmohan Dalmiya, in Calcutta to discuss the tour's logistical issues.
