BCCI moots player-friendly calendar to reduce workload

MUMBAI: In a move that will ease the workload of India cricketers, the BCCI is set to introduce a ‘balanced’ schedule of bilateral matches in the new international calendar.

According to a Espncricinfo report, the board will push for its players-friendly schedule during a two-day ICC members’ workshop in Singapore beginning Thursday.

The new FTP will consist of the Test and the ODI leagues beginning in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The Test league makes it mandatory for every country to play six teams home or away in a two-year period that commences right after the 2019 World Cup.

A BCCI official said India would take part in longer Test series against Australia, England and South Africa while keeping the minimum two-test policy against the rest of the lower ranked teams. The BCCI

has apparently also told the ICC that India will not play international cricket 15 days before and after the IPL.

As per the new schedule, India are slated to play 84 days of international cricket in 2019-20, 68 in 2020-21, 77 in 2021-22 and 47 in 2022-23.

Vinod Rai, COA chairman, said captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri has agreed to the new schedule. “We have made a presentation to the players where the number of days per year is mentioned clearly in the new FTP. Kohli and the rest had accepted the plans,” Rai was quoted as saying.

Rai also added that cricketers were not keen on long tours. The BCCI has decided that from now on, the bilateral tour would consist of only Tests or only ODIS, he said. The players also wanted T20 games to be staged before a Test series as after a Test series gets over, players have no interest left in playing T-20, Rai added.

Demands to revise the future scheduling of tours matches and provide players enough rest between two tournaments have been raised by a number of Indian players in the recent times.

Kohli and MS Dhoni had publicly lashed out at the board for not providing players with enough breaks. The duo had argued that players need proper rest to perform consistently.

The workload of Indian cricketers can be gauged from the fact that the team has played a total of 60 international matches since the beginning of home season in September 2016. Add to it the IPL, and it has been a non-stop show for the Indian cricketers.