The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has quashed all rumours about receiving any request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding tweaking of the Test series to accommodate the remainder of the Indian Premier League in the September window.
"We talk to the BCCI on a regular basis about a wide range of issues especially as we address the challenges of Covid-19, but have had no official request to change dates and are continuing to plan for the five-match Test series as is scheduled," an ECB spokesperson was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying.
This clarification was issued late evening on May 20, while the rumours of BCCI’s request were started by the British media earlier in the day.
Earlier in the day, a BCCI official told The New Indian Express that both boards were exploring options at the moment and given the extraordinary times the Indian counterpart was hopeful that the ECB will make some adjustments. The report further claimed that the BCCI are ready to compensate for the curtailed series by playing additional limited-overs matches in July.
The Test series, a five-match affair is scheduled to begin with the first game in Nottingham on August 4 and would go on till September 14, if the fifth Test in Old Trafford, beginning September 10, runs its full course of time.
The IPL was suspended earlier this month on May 4 after a huge rise in Covid -19 cases in the bio-bubble. The BCCI and IPL governing council later informed that the tournament has been postponed and the remainder of it would be completed outside India.