Delhi: BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) Devjit Saikia has defended the decision to hold a Test match in Delhi in November. Recently, BCCI released the schedule of India’s domestic cricket season, which includes Test series against West Indies and South Africa. This season will start from October 2.
Two Test matches against the West Indies will be held in October, which will be played in Ahmedabad and Kolkata. After this, Team India will play two Tests against South Africa in November, of which the first match will be held from November 14 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Fans have expressed displeasure over Delhi being made a venue, because pollution is very high in the capital in November. On this, BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia gave a clarification that a decision has been taken keeping all aspects in mind and Delhi has been given a Test match under the rotation policy.
Saikia said in a conversation with the Indian Express, “We have decided after discussing all things. There is no pollution in November every year.”
Here DDCA (Delhi District Cricket Association) Secretary Ashok Sharma has also assured that the safety of the players will be taken care of. He said, “We will take all the necessary steps for the convenience of the players. The pollution of November is less than December. Delhi did not get a Test match for a long time, so when BCCI gave the match, we accepted it according to the schedule.”
Disputed Delhi Test of 2017
The last Test match in Delhi was against Australia in February 2023, which India won by 6 wickets. But, earlier in December 2017, the match against Sri Lanka was in controversies, when the Sri Lankan players were complaining of trouble breathing on the field.
After lunch on the second day of the match, many Sri Lankan players could not land on the field and the team coaches and trainers had to field. Because of this, India had to declare the innings early.
After this, the air of Delhi has worsened every year in October-November, especially due to burning straw in neighboring states. Now it has to be seen how BCCI and DDCA handle the situation this time.
India vs South Africa – Series schedule
| Order | Date (from) | to date) | Time | Match | place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 November 2025 | 18 November 2025 | 9:30 am | First test | New Delhi |
| 2 | 22 November 2025 | 26 November 2025 | 9:30 am | Second test | Guwahati |
| 3 | 30 November 2025 | , | 1:30 pm | First ODI | Ranchi |
| 4 | 03 December 2025 | , | 1:30 pm | Second ODI | Raipur |
| 5 | 06 December 2025 | , | 1:30 pm | Third ODI | Visakhapatnam |
| 6 | 09 December 2025 | , | 7:00 PM | First T20 | Cuttack |
| 7 | 11 December 2025 | , | 7:00 PM | Second T20 | New Chandigarh |
| 8 | 14 December 2025 | , | 7:00 PM | Third T20 | Hospice |
| 9 | 17 December 2025 | , | 7:00 PM | Fourth T20 | Lucknow |
| 10 | 19 December 2025 | , | 7:00 PM | Fifth T20 | Ahmedabad |
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(Tagstotranslate) BCCI (T) Delhi Test (T) Ind vs SA (T) Indian National Cricket Team (T) Team India Test Schedule