Dharamsala Test officially moved to Indore, confirms BCCI

The third Test between India and Australia that was scheduled to be held in Dharamshala between March 1 and 5 has been moved to the Holkar Stadium in Indore. 

"Owing to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully," the BCCI said in a release.

It was previously understood that the ground was not fit enough to host international matches following rennovation that included relaying the outfield and installing a new drainage system. Dharamshala played host to the India-Australia Test match in 2017, which incidentally remains the only game in the format to be played there.

However, the last international matches at the venue were a couple of T20 Internationals (T20I) between India and Sri Lanka, that was played in February last year. Since 2013, the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala has also hosted four One-Day Internationals (ODI).More recently, the Holkar Stadium has played host to six Ranji Trophy matches this season, including the semi-final between Madhya Pradesh and Bengal. 

India started off the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a comprehensive innings and 132-run victory in the first Test in Nagpur. The action now shifts to Delhi for the second Test, starting February 17. A win for India there will ensure that they have one foot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will be played at The Oval later this year.