The Florida leg of the T20I series between India and West Indies for the fourth and fifth games is set to go ahead as planned this weekend, following the stamping of USA visas for both teams on Wednesday.
There was a delay in the visa process for both teams, and it needed the intervention of Guyanese president Irfaan Ali to ensure the paperwork was complete after members of both teams flew into Georgetown via a charter flight following the completion of the third T20I in St Kitts on Sunday. The teams were earlier expected to receive their USA travel document in Trinidad or St Kitts, the venues of the first three T20Is of the series.
While Cricket West Indies (CWI) had been confident of the issue being resolved in time, they had been preparing a contingency plan to stage the final leg of the series in the Caribbean, mostly in Port-of-Spain.
While those with the requisite USA visa flew in from St Kitts, the rest of the touring party will fly into Miami via a charter from Georgetown on Thursday. Among them are India head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma.
The T20I leg has been hit by a series of logistical hitches. The second T20I in St Kitts was delayed by three hours after a late arrival of team kits from Trinidad, which hosted the series opener. As a result, the third T20I the following day was also delayed, with the start time pushed back by 1.5 hours to give players sufficient recovery time.
India currently lead the five-match series 2-1, with the next two games scheduled back to back on Saturday and Sunday. They will be sweating over Rohit's fitness after he retired hurt in the third T20I due to back spasms.
The Central Broward Park, in Lauderhill, Florida, is a regular pitstop in India's tour to the Caribbean with matches being staged at the venue on every tour since 2016.
India will fly to United States of America for the remaining 2 T20Is vs West Indies. India lead 2-1 in the ongoing five-match series vs the Windies and would be aiming for a series win on August 6 in Florida. The last T20 will also be played in Florida only on August 7. Before heading to US, Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya managed to get time to pay a visit to his best friend Kieron Pollard's house, who lives in Trinidad and Tobago. Mind you, teams today do not anymore live in a bio-secure environment and are free to travel wherever they want to go by taking some precautions. Hardik went to Pollard's house and clicked some lovely pictures with his family.
In one of the pictures Hardik shared on his social media, he could be see standing with Pollard, his wife and his 3 kids. He wrote: "No trip to the Caribbean is complete without a visit to the King's home. Polly my favourite and your beautiful family, thank you for hosting me my brother."
IND vs WI LIVE – Rohit Sharma 4TH T20: In a major relief for the Indian cricket fans, it has been learnt that Rohit Sharma will be available for the last two games on Saturday and Sunday in Florida. The India skipper retired hurt during the 3rd T20 in St Kitts on Tuesday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said the skipper suffered a back spasm. The information coming in from the team sources is that Rohit has recovered and will play the last two T20 Matches
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