KEY POINTS:
India have written to New Zealand Cricket (NZC) seeking a third test for the tour that starts in March.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) want an extra test added to an itinerary that includes tests in Hamilton and Wellington following a Twenty20 international and five one-day matches.
NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan is yet to okay the request, telling an Indian cricket website key decision-makers were on leave during the Christmas-New Year period and the matter would be discussed this week.
The news will excite test-starved fans who have become used to two-test series like the one recently completed against the West Indies.
When there is a weather-affected match, like the first test at Dunedin, it is hardly worthy of the 'series' tag.
The fact India is such a high-profile side that includes some of the game's biggest superstars, such as Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is a further boon.
The tour in its current format starts on March 6 with the Twenty20 in Wellington and is scheduled to end in the capital after the second test at the Basin Reserve on April 7.
With poor light a factor the later in the year cricket is played, it would make sense to move the tour forward, and all the subsequent dates, by a week. New Zealand return from their Chappell-Hadlee one-day series in Australia on February 15 so the juggling, if any, would involve the domestic programme.
India have a substantial gap to fill in their programme after their tour to Pakistan starting mid-January was cancelled due to security fears.
India were expected to play the tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 international in Pakistan before the tour was cancelled on December 18.
It was the third major cricket tour to Pakistan to be called off on security grounds last year. In March, Australia pulled out of their scheduled visit, while the International Cricket Council (ICC) postponed the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in September.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA
