NEW DELHI, Nov 17: India on Thursday rejected England’s request for better venues when Michael Vaughan’s team tours the country next March-April. The itinerary drawn up by the Indian board has Tests in Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Mumbai and seven one-dayers in outposts like Goa, Indore, Guwahati, Faridabad, Cuttack, Cochin and Visakhapatnam.

England, although satisfied with Mumbai, preferred to play other matches in traditional centres like New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata which have enough hotels to accommodate the large media contingent and fans expected for the tour.

The BCCI declined to change venues, saying it was a long-standing policy to rotate international matches among the 21 venues dotted across the country.

There is no question of a change in venues,” said BCCI joint-secretary Gautam Dasgupta after meeting England and ECB official John Carr and players’ representative Richard Bevan in Kolkata.—Agencies