Change in timing of 3 matches of India-England T20 seriesImage Credit source: PTI
The Indian team will leave for Ireland and England tour in the next few days, where it will play T20 series. The T20 team has been announced for this tour. There are still about 3 weeks left for the series against England, but just before that, the England Cricket Board (ECB) has taken a big decision. ECB has decided to change the timing of the 5 T20 match series. The 3 day-night matches of this series will now start one hour before the scheduled time. The reason for this decision is to achieve maximum viewership on TV.
According to the report of ESPN-Cricinfo, 3 out of 5 T20 matches will be day-night. The England Cricket Board had announced the schedule of this series last year itself. Then the timing of these day-night matches was fixed at 11 pm Indian time. But now just a few days before the start of the series, the English Board has decided to change it. Now these three matches will start at 10 pm.
It has been told in the report that the ECB has taken this decision after discussing with the broadcaster of the series. The reason is clear – the number of people watching Team India’s matches is more than any other country, whether it is in the stadium or on TV or OTT. In such a situation, broadcasters also try to ensure that the timing is such that it can attract maximum Indian viewers. This benefits the broadcaster in the form of higher earnings, the benefit of which also reaches the cricket board.
Let us tell you that the cricket board of any country benefits the most from the tour of the Indian team. Last year, the English Board got huge benefits from the Test series with India in England, which is expected to happen this year also. Although the earnings from ODI and T20 series are expected to be less as compared to the Test series, but it will prove to be more profitable than any other series.
Talking about this series, it will start from July 1, when Team India will reach England after playing 2 T20 matches in Ireland. The first 5 T20 matches will be played on this tour, where Shreyas Iyer will captain Team India. After this series, 3 ODI matches will also be played between the two teams. However, Team India has not been announced yet for the ODI series.
