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Was the Kiwi Cricket Tour to India Canceled; Or Was it Just Some Dodgy Newspaper Story?

An Indian paper made some big claims about the New Zealand tour being cancelled, but it looks to be a con-job.

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There'll be no test cricket between India and New Zealand in Indore, today.

That's due to the rain – it's been pelting down all morning - and the fact the next test isn't scheduled to start until Sunday NZT. Read the right – or wrong – type of Indian newspaper and you might be convinced it's because the Kiwi tour has been called off, full stop..

There's been all sorts of strange things flying around about the New Zealand tour to India – which is two tests through a three-match series.

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On Tuesday, the Indian and New Zealand teams woke up to news that the Kiwi tour of the sub-continent was over due to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) having their bank accounts frozen.

The reports came in the Indian Express newspaper, and quoted an anonymous BCCI official as saying: "we have no option other than to call off the India-New Zealand series as out banks have decided to freeze BCCI accounts."

"We don't want India to be humiliated in front of the world. How can we function, how can we hold any games now? Who will make the payment? Freezing a bank account is no joke. An international team is here, and there is so much at stake."

A deluge in Indore as preparations begin for the final test in the — Andrew Alderson (@aldersonnotes)October 5, 2016

That's true – but that international team weren't taking the report seriously. Black Caps coach Mike Hesson told media that he wasn't concerned with the suggestions of the tour's cancelation - and that the Black Caps were still heading for Indore.

They were there today – as were the Indian team.

Justice Rajendra Lodha, who leads a panel cleaning up cricket corruption in India, refuted the report, too. He said that while the BCCI was under scrutiny, banks weren't stopping money flow for international matches to be held.

"No question of calling off the India versus New Zealand series," he said. "No direction from our side to cancel the ongoing series."

Reuters have also reported the game is due to start on time – weather permitting – on Sunday.

Confusing stuff, but it looks like the tour is going to be full steam ahead.

That's almost a bit of a bugger for the Kiwis: they've been steamrolled in the first two tests, and the slow-paced Indore wicket is certainly not going to help out their seamers.