Team India has had a rather busy home season this year since they returned from the Sri Lankan tour after which they hosted Australia and New Zealand for a total number of 14 International matches, including 8 One Day Internationals and 6 T20Is.
After that, Virat Kohli & Co. is now playing against Sri Lanka as part of their home season, while the tour includes three matches apiece in ODIs, Tests and T20Is from 16th November to 24th December. If we take the IPL 2017, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and ICC Champions trophy 2017 into consideration, it makes for a very tight and demanding year for the 2011 World Cup-winning team.
Leaving aside their Champions Trophy failures, the squad has been winning matches after matches. So, while it seems a walk in the park to many, the real pressure, as well as hard work that goes into those final results, is said to have taken a toll on the team, so much so that even skipper Virat Kohli has lashed out at the BCCI for not giving his squad a breather.
During a recent interview, Virat Kohli took a direct jibe at the board for planning such a tight schedule which is hampering the team’s performance and has deprived the members of requisite Tests such as the infamous Yo-Yo Test as well as preparations for the upcoming South African tour which includes 3 Tests, 6 ODIs and 3 T20Is to be played from 5th January to 24th February, 2018.
When questioned if he had asked for bouncy tracks for Sri Lanka’s tour, Virat Kohli said,
“Yes (I had), because, we, unfortunately, get only two days before the tour to South Africa after this (India vs Sri Lanka) series gets over. So we had no choice but try to be in the same situation and think as well as prepare for what’s coming ahead of us. Had we got at least a month off ideally, we would have prepared in a camp sort of scenario but we have to make do with what we have.”
“As usual, we are cramped for time, which I think we all need to assess in future as we very easily scrutinize the team when we go abroad, but we fail to look at how many days we got for preparation before travel to a particular place. Everyone starts judging the players when results come after Test matches but it should be a fair game, where the team should get to prepare the way they want to and then they are entitled to be criticised.”
Watch Virat Kohli Talking To Media Before The India Vs Sri Lanka 2017, 2nd Test Here.
It is needless to say that BCCI is the highest earning cricket board in the world and majority of their revenues comes from the number of series that team India plays and the players are rewarded with what they deserve for the sweat and blood they are drained of on the field.
However, have we ever seen the likes of Australia, England, South Africa or even New Zealand, playing as many back-to-back games? And if they do, isn’t it the responsibility of their respective boards to give the team some respite or have a backup squad on the call?
That said, in order to keep their pool of talent reserved as well as afresh, BCCI has denied Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah a chance to play in Ranji Trophy and they are, along with Axar Patel, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik taking part in the training sessions at NCA, Bengaluru instead.
But what about the batting line-up, including the skipper Virat Kohli himself, or the bowling trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Shami? All these players have been some of the high performing assets for the squad and all of them entering the South African tour drained, could have major repercussions.
On the other hand, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar is on leave due to his marriage and Shikhar Dhawan has opted out for the 2nd Test between team India and Sri Lanka due to personal reasons, Hardik Pandya, the newest all-rounder sensation of team India, is also on a break after several matches winning endeavors. He believably wants to prepare for the South African tour where his hard-hitting could really help Virat Kohli & Co.
Everything said and done, the question once again arises that a hectic schedule has been one of the major struggles for team India in the last half a decade or so and whenever the squad is preparing to travel abroad, this is the one factor that creates a buzz, highlighting a tired team.
But shouldn’t this be catered to when the board was preparing this year’s schedule? Why wouldn’t the board care about the number of matches team India plays unless the idea is to mint money?
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