Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s criticism over Team India’s cramped schedule leading to lack of preparation time for the forthcoming South Africa tour will be addressed by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) in the newly drafted Future Tour Programme (FTP) for the period 2019-2023.

CoA chief Vinod Rai made it clear at the ‘TOI Litfest Delhi’ on Sunday that the playing days of the Indian team will be reduced drastically from 140 days to a minimum 80 days per year in the 2019-2023 Futures Tour Programme (FTP), which is currently being prepared under the supervision of the Supreme Court-appointed committee.

Describing the same, Rai said, “We can’t be killing the golden goose for the sake of revenue. That is why the players would be given a detailed presentation during the Delhi Test match (beginning on December 2), where their opinion will be taken into consideration by the BCCI. We will discuss the FTP with the team.”

Rai also said the reduction in the number of matches that the Indian team is currently playing will also lead to lesser no. of injuries. He said, “We are taking a 360-degree view of the situation before deciding on the FTP. The burnout of players is a serious issue. The fact that the Indian team would have only two days of rest before flying out for the South African series and start playing there without warm-up game shows that something isn’t right about the schedule.”

On an average, Team India will be seen playing around 32 games – including Tests, ODIs, and T20Is – per year between 2019 and 2023 instead of the existing 50-plus games a year.

It is learned that the draft of the FTP would also have the provision for two to three India-Pakistan bilateral series. Talking about the same, a top board official said, “The fact that FTP has a provision for India-Pakistan series doesn’t mean that it would translate into a reality. It would be subject to clearance from the Union government.”