The BCCI has shifted the Ranji Trophy quarter-final between Haryana and Mumbai from Lahli, Haryana’s home venue, to Kolkata, a neutral venue. The development has affected the travel plans of both the teams – the game is scheduled to start on Saturday – and taken the “hosts” by surprise, since the BCCI hasn’t provided Haryana with a reason for the switch officially.

Mumbai were due to arrive in Lahli on Wednesday morning. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is now making arrangements for them to fly out to Kolkata by Wednesday evening. Haryana, like Mumbai, are expected to reach Kolkata late on Wednesday. “Yes, we have received a communication from BCCI that our quarter-final against Haryana will be played at the Eden Gardens,” MCA president Ajinkya Naik told PTI.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the weather in Lahli has been clear over the past few days, and the Haryana Cricket Association was confident of hosting the match at the Bansi Lal Stadium, which had hosted all their three home games this season.

Like Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, too, won’t enjoy home advantage after their quarter-final against Kerala was shifted from Jammu to the MCA Stadium in Pune.

In this case, though, the shift came about because the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), it is understood, was concerned about the ground conditions following a harsh winter and conveyed the same to the BCCI.

The JKCA had been keen on hosting the game in Mumbai or Ahmedabad but were informed that those venues would be unavailable, and a decision was made to host the game in Pune instead.

The other two knockout games – Vidarbha vs Tamil Nadu and Saurashtra vs Gujarat – would be played in Nagpur (Civil Lines Stadium) and Rajkot (Niranjan Shah Stadium) respectively, as per the current norms where the group toppers are recognised as the host teams.

Vidarbha’s 40 points owing to six outright wins in seven games are the most by any team in the group stage this season. Gujarat, meanwhile, have the third-highest points (32), behind J&K’s 35.