BCCI angry, will change players but not schedule
New Delhi, Aug. 15: An SOS from the Indian team management to rein in an overloaded schedule has finally stirred the Board of Control for Cricket in India into introspection, but the solution it has come up with isn’t what the players would have expected.
A top board official admitted there were too many matches leading up to the 2011 World Cup, but added that it could not be modified, due to commercial and contractual obligations.
“It will not be possible to change it at this time, rights of these events are already sold. What we can do is give rest to bulk of the players as long as they want, so that they are fresh for the World Cup,” the official told this newspaper on Sunday.
“This way, the players can have the rest they say they want, and others who have persistent niggles and long-standing injuries can get themselves ready ahead of next year’s World Cup.”
The team management had shot off a letter to board secretary N. Srinivasan just after the side’s 200-run mauling at the hands of New Zealand in Dambulla on Tuesday, saying that similar results would ensue if the number of matches were not curbed.
One of the suggestions made by the players was to prune the upcoming three-Test series against the Kiwis in November at home to a two-match affair so that the preparations for the following South African tour can be advanced by a week.
The official denied any knowledge of the letter but floated the idea that skipper M.S. Dhoni could be rested until the end of the year, and in the meantime Suresh Raina can be made captain. “It’s an extreme alternative, but it could be tried if selectors feel it is appropriate.”
In the run-up to the mega-event, however, India play a total of four Tests and 10 ODIs against tough opposition. As much as the team management is dreading the prospect of injuries to one or more of the stars who will play in the World Cup, the possibility of being an under-prepared unit is even more scary.
However, the board is itself split on the issue, and a majority of officials feel the schedule is okay the way it is. According to a source, BCCI president Shashank Manohar has already flown to Mumbai from Nagpur to mediate between the officials, so that a reply can be sent to Team India’s letter.
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