Beginning on September 23, the teams will play three Twenty20 internationals, three one-day internationals and as many test matches in the United Arab Emirates.
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The Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground has previously hosted four worldwide matches, back in 2010 and 2012.
“I was thinking this was going to be a makeshift venue, having never seen this”. I had heard about Florida and this ground, but very impressed with the facilities that we have seen today. “Well, certainly didn’t expect the facilities to be as good as what it is here”. So all in all, really impressed with the facilities here. We know United States, the expats and the huge Indian diaspora who want quality cricket to come to the US. The team is coming into the shortest format of the game after a comfortable 2-0 win over the West Indies in the four-match Test series.
With the top T20 stars from India and West Indies in action, the stadium, which has a capacity of 15,000, is expected to be sold out, especially considering the huge number of NRIs in US.
The two-match series is going to be the first of what will develop into an annual event in the U.S. as part of efforts to “reach out to new markets and audiences”, BCCI president Anurag Thakur had said.
Kumble conceded that switching from Tests to T20Is wasn’t easy, but wasn’t concerned about the rankings, where India and West Indies are No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, just below New Zealand.
The Indians are coming into the T20 tournament on a high after a 2-0 series test win against the Carribeans.
Indian T20I squad: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain and WK), Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane. “So this is a great opportunity for all of them and I’m sure this is the start of a new beginning in the United States and I’m sure there will be a lot more of the Indian team in the USA going forward”, Kumble said. We have played together over a long period of time and we had a chat yesterday and today as well. I’m really looking forward to working with him, and the new set of boys who have joined the team. “It is nice to be a part of the Indian dressing room again”, Kumble told reporters at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground.
However, Simmons said there would not be much of a transition to make to the T20 format seeing the team, under new captain Carlos Brathwaite, was nearly a completely different one to the Test set-up.
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“West Indies are always a tough side and they are the World T20 champions”. Six matches in the recent franchise-based Caribbean Premier League were played at the $10 million arena while the first full global matches, two Twenty20 games between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, were staged there in 2010. have no worries over their confidence levels heading into the weekend. They were led to their second T20 World Cup crown by Darren Sammy, who had been the skipper of the side even when the side lifted their first T20 World Cup in 2012.
