India set to tour West Indies for four Tests

India will play four Tests in West Indies in July-August, Dave Cameron, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president, said on Tuesday (March 29), ending the uncertainty concerning the tour.

The tour was in jeopardy after the West Indian players abruptly pulled out midway during their tour of India in 2014, citing payment issues. This soured the relationship between Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and WICB, with the former threatening to sue the Caribbean board. However, fruitful discussions that followed aided in ending the impasse, with WICB confirming that the series in on, although the dates haven’t been confirmed yet.

Speaking to Cricket Radio, Cameron said: “The official word is that the tour is on. We are just awaiting confirmation of the venues now. And once we have done that, we will send out a release with the dates, the venues and everything.”

With the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) also expected to be organised around the same time, the players in the national squad are likely to miss out on franchise cricket. “Yes, it will [clash with the CPL],” confirmed Cameron. “The unfortunate thing is that the international calendar is packed. And the only window for this tour to come off is during that time. So, there will be a clash, but we are working with CPL to ensure there is no clash of venues so times of the matches won’t be hampered.”

The last time India toured West Indies was in 2011 where they won the three-match series 1-0 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. India have played 45 Tests in the Caribbean, winning five, losing 16 while 24 Tests ended in a draw.

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