Venues decided by rotation policy - BCCI secretary

The BCCI has responded to the England board's statement, in which they expressed "disappointment" at the proposed itinerary for the tour of India, by saying that the venues were decided according to a rotation policy.

"We would like to remind the ECB that our venues are always decided on the basis of a rotation policy," Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told Cricketnirvana.com. "The itinerary for the England tour has been finalised on the basis of this rotation policy."

The main concern surrounds the grounds for the seven-match one-day series. Instead of playing at stadiums like Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, England are scheduled to visit Rajkot, Indore, Kanpur, Jamshedpur, Cuttack, Guwahati and Delhi.

A statement from the ECB said that "despite representations, the itinerary didn't offer the thousands of supporters who follow the England team abroad, the opportunity to experience more of the great cricket grounds of India."

Shah, however, questioned the ECB's decision to complain. "We do not quite understand how and why the ECB has chosen to air its grievances over this policy in the media," Shah said. "Whenever the Indian team has toured England, some of the venues have not been up to the mark in terms of facilities for Indian players and supporters. However, we have complied and gone ahead and played, for it is the host board's prerogative to fix the itinerary."

England will play seven ODIs, two Tests and three warm-up matches during their tour which begins on November 6 and ends on December 23.