The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) is gearing up to host the first T20 International between India and New Zealand at the Jamtha Stadium on January 21.
Around 10 to 12 members of the Indian T20 squad, including support staff, will arrive in Nagpur by Saturday evening flights. Most players of the Suryakumar Yadav-led team, who are not part of the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, will reach the city in advance.
Players expected to arrive include captain Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan. Tilak Varma has been ruled out of the first three T20Is due to injury. The team will begin net practice on Sunday morning.
Two players from the ODI squad, Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav, will join the T20 team after the final ODI, scheduled to be played in Indore on Sunday.
The New Zealand team is expected to arrive in Nagpur on Monday morning and will have a practice session on Tuesday. The five-match T20I series will serve as a build-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.
Meanwhile, online ticket sales for the first T20I will begin on Saturday at 10 am. Tickets will be available through the official ticketing partner on the ‘District by Zomato’ mobile app and the website district.in. Each person can book a maximum of two tickets using one mobile number and one email ID.
Tickets booked online can be redeemed from January 18 to January 20 between 9.30 am and 8 pm at Bilimoria Hall, Civil Lines, Nagpur. On match day, ticket redemption will be available at the same venue only till 2 pm. There will be no ticket redemption counter at the Jamtha Stadium.
Around 37,000 tickets will be available for sale. Of these, about 4,000 have already been sold to VCA members and affiliated clubs, while some complimentary tickets are reserved for the BCCI and State Associations.
VCA has appealed to spectators to use public transport to avoid traffic congestion. About 30 NMC buses and 15 VCA buses will operate on match day, providing pick-up and drop services between Khapri Metro Station and Jamtha Stadium. Spectators are also advised to use the Metro and opt for carpooling.
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