Indian cricket team’s head coach Ravi Shastri has appealed to the BCCI to be much more thoughtful when it comes to scheduling international fixtures in order to provide sufficient amount of breaks to players and support staff.
In a video conference on Friday with the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) and board chief executive officer Rahul Johri, Shastri put forward his request.
Team India has recently returned from the month long tour of Sri Lanka where they whitewashed the hosts. Soon after that, they will be hosting Australia in a home series, starting next week for five ODIs and three T20Is.
As per the reports of PTI, talking about team’s schedule, Shastri said, “Such tight scheduling gives the players little time to recuperate. The international calendar is so tight these days and it’s not only the matches that take a toll on players’ body, but the long flights and travelling.”
The Indian cricket team will be playing three back-to-back home series this winter. Australia will play a one month-long series from September 17 to October 13, followed by New Zealand will arrive for a series starting October 22 to November 7. And just a week after that, Sri Lanka will land for a series expected to start from November 15 to December 24. As soon as India wrap up with the Lanka series, they will rush to South Africa on December 28 where they will play three T20s, three ODIs followed by four Tests matches.
As soon as Team India wrap up with the Lanka series, they will rush to South Africa on December 28 where they will play three T20s, three ODIs followed by four Tests.
Apart from Shastri, India’ team manager Kapil Malhotra also expressed his displeasure with the scheduling, he said, “If you see the scheduling, the day we got into London in the morning, within a few hours the Captain had to attend the arrival press conference, then (the) captains’ photo shoot, then the entire squad had to attend an anti-doping educational briefing along with an ACU educational briefing.”
When the England team travelled to India in 2016, ECB had even given their players a ‘Chirstmas break’ between the series. On the other hand, during Diwali this year, the Indian team will be having a pressure of playing against New Zealand.
