BCCI facilitates Tendulkar`s 200th Test at home

Kolkata: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has proposed a two-Test series with the West Indies in India in November, apparently to facilitate Sachin Tendulkar play his record 200th Test at home.

The Working Committee meeting of the BCCI here Sunday approved sandwiching the West Indies visit between Australia`s visit in October for a One-Day International Series and India`s tour to South Africa in December-January. The West Indies will also play five One-Dayers during their short visit. "Apart from the home series against Australia in October 2013, the working committee approved a proposed home series against the West Indies in the month of November 2013," a BCCI release stated. The board also approved tours to New Zealand and England in the month of January-February and July-September respectively. "The Indian team`s tour of New Zealand for two Tests and five ODIs in January-February 2014 was approved. The Indian team`s tour of England for five Tests, five ODIs, one T20 International, from July to September 2014, was approved," added the release. Tendulkar, who is two Tests short of becoming the first cricketer to feature in 200 Tests, was originally expected to reach the milestone on the South Africa tour. It is also speculated that Tendulkar might call it a day after playing the two Tests against the West Indies, so that he could end his 24-year international career playing the two matches at two of the best stadiums in the country, Kolkata and his hometown Mumbai. The batting great has so far played 198 Tests, scoring 15,837 runs at an average of 53.86. The top run-getter by quite a distance, Tendulkar has scored 51 hundreds in Tests. Tendulkar, who has retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals, scored 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs at an average of 44.83 with 49 hundreds. Though the South Africa tour has been put on hold, ostensibly seeking changes in the itinerary proposed by Cricket South Africa (CSA), it is seen as BCCI`s way of registering its resentment over the appointment of Haroon Lorgat as CSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) following its differences with him when he was at the helm of the International Cricket Council (ICC) affairs. IANS