India 'A' vs SA 'A' shifted to Bengaluru from Belagavi

The opening game of the two-match series between India 'A' and South Africa 'A' (August 4-7) has been shifted from Belagavi to Bengaluru following heavy rain that made it impossible for the authorities to prepare the pitch.

With more rain forecast for the week, KSCA did not want to take any risk and has decided to stage both the games in Bengaluru. The second match was originally scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from August 10-13.

"It has been orally decided to hold both the matches in Bengaluru," KSCA secretary R Sudhakar Rao told DH. "We should be getting a confirmation from BCCI in the next couple of days."

Rao said KSCA had no choice but to get both the games to Bengaluru. "Belagavi has been receiving heavy rainfall this monsoon. And more rain has been forecast as well. We didn't want to lose the chance to host two games. So we informed BCCI we would like the opening game to be shifted to Bengaluru. One of the games will certainly be in Chinnaswamy Stadium. We want to have the other game in Alur. A call on that will be made later," Rao said.

"Pitch could not be prepared due to continuous rain, and the issue was brought to the notice of higher officials," said Deepak Pawar, who is supervising the preparations at the Belagavi stadium.

It was Belagavi's first chance to host an international level match. Rain hindered pitch preparation work when only six days were left for the match. In 2014, Hubballi hosted a match between India 'A' and West Indies 'A'.

Recently, BCCI Assistant Manager (sports development) Mayank Parikh and Assistant Manager (logistics) Anant Datar inspected the stadium and had also expressed doubts about holding the match.