New Zealand will bring forward the Test series against India by a week to accommodate an additional match with Napier added to the itinerary, media reports said in Wellington on Wednesday.
In order to accommodate an additional Test match, as requested by the BCCI, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has decided to add Napier to Hamilton and Wellington as venues for the Test matches in March-April this year, according to The Dominion Post.
Accordingly, Hamilton will host the first Test from March 19, and not March 26 as was originally scheduled, followed by the match in Napier from March 26. Wellington will host the third Test from April 3, as was originally decided.
With the three-match Test series starting a week earlier than planned, NZC would have to reschedule the five-match ODI series which was to finish on March 20, the report said.
"The situation was not as simple as tacking a Test on the end because both teams had players involved in the Indian Premier League, starting on April 10.
"Adding the Test at the start of the tour was also problematic because it would require India to send out the Test squad for one game, then the limited-overs players, before bringing the Test players back again," the report said.
{{/usCountry}}"Adding the Test at the start of the tour was also problematic because it would require India to send out the Test squad for one game, then the limited-overs players, before bringing the Test players back again," the report said.
{{/usCountry}}"It is poised to confirm in the next few days that there will be three Tests in a row in late March to early April," it added.
After the cancellation of India's Pakistan tour following the Mumbai terror attacks, BCCI requested NZC to accommodate an extra Test so that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men don't remain short of international cricket.
India's New Zealand tour will open with a Twenty20 international in Wellington on March 6.