The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to start the five-Test series a week in advance, allowing them to hold the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. No official statement has been received by the BCCI so far, but former England captain Mike Atherton has confirmed this.
Atherton told 'The Times' that there was an informal discussion about this between the boards of the two countries. According to the report, to complete the postponed IPL, the BCCI has asked the ECB about the possibility of holding the last match of the Test series a week in advance. It said, "There has been informal discussion between the respective boards, as the cricket schedule has been severely affected due to the Covid-19 epidemic."
While ECB told IANS on Friday that it has not received a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to advance the Test series, there has been speculation that it may want the series to finish earlier than September 14 to get 20-22 days to finish the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). The tournament, which was postponed halfway through its group stage due to Covid-19 in May, could be held in UAE.
The Indian team is looking at a possible six-week gap after the completion of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. The match against New Zealand will be played at Southampton from 18-22 June. The first match of the five-match series against England will be played in Nottingham (4–8 August). It will be followed by Lords (12–16 August), Leeds (25–29 August), The Oval (2–6 September) and Manchester (10–14 September).