Team India to play additional two T20Is in USA on West Indies tour - Reports

Team India will reportedly play an additional two T20Is at the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida, during their tour of the West Indies in July-August.

The Men in Blue followed a similar itinerary during last year's tour, where they played the final two T20Is of the five-match series in Florida.

The two games are planned as an add-on to the existing tour itinerary, comprising two Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is. There were reports last week about the possibility of two additional T20Is in Florida as per discussions between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) during recent ICC meetings in Dubai.

A CWI official has now confirmed the plans to the Cricbuzz website with a statement saying:

"That is the plan. Unless there is an unavoidable situation, the two extra games will be played in Florida, like last year."

It has also been reported that CWI will conduct matches with limited to no role of USA cricket. The CWI official continued:

"The CWI is the event host with special commercial relations and arrangements for local operations at the Broward Stadium. This is very similar to how the 2024 World Cup will operate for the US matches,"

The tour will now have ten matches with two Tests followed by three ODIs and five T20Is. It is understood from Cricbuzz reports that the tour itinerary has been shared with the BCCI and will be announced once the board gives the go-ahead.

India will look to continue their dominance over the West Indies in the Florida T20Is

India and West Indies will likely play T20Is in Florida later this year.

India and West Indies have played five previous T20Is in Lauderhill, Florida, between 2016 and 2022. The Men in Blue have emerged victorious on four of the five occasions.

The teams first met in Florida in a two-match series in 2016 which the West Indies won 1-0 as the second T20I was abandoned due to inclement weather. They then met in the first two T20Is of the three-match series in 2019. India won both matches quite convincingly by four wickets and 22 runs.

The sides met again last year in the final two T20Is of the five-match series and Team India won both matches comprehensively by 59 and 88 runs.

The first meeting between the teams in Florida was in 2016. The match saw both KL Rahul and Evin Lewis score quick-fire centuries as the West Indies won by one run. The teams combined for the highest aggregate in a T20I with 489 runs before the record was broken in the recent South Africa-West Indies T20I series.