To prepare for series vs Aus, India ‘A’ to tour New Zealand
The BCCI is planning an India A tour of New Zealand that will serve as a shadow tour of the all-important tour of Australia later in the year. Speaking during an interaction here on Friday, Saba Karim, BCCI’s GM (Cricket Operations), said ‘A’ tours are now being planned keeping senior tours on mind.
India are scheduled to leave for Australia early November for a tour comprising three T20Is, four Tests and three ODIs. India will then travel to New Zealand where they are scheduled to play five ODIs and three T20Is.
“We travel to New Zealand. That will be like a preparatory tour for Australia, like what we did for the England series. We had Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay and Rishabh Pant there. That’s the way to go forward. We only plan to have shadow tours now. That will be more constructive,” said Karim.
With reports of ‘pay-to-play’ emerging in some of the new states who will play Ranji Trophy for the first time, Karim said the Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) has already been activated. “If we get any evidence, we will take substantial action against that state. If there is any tampering of birth certificates, we will ban them (players) for two seasons.”
The BCCI has also decided that from now on, umpires will evaluate the performances of its match referees instead of other way round. The registered umpires have been graded in four categories based on their performance in the last two seasons and accordingly allotted matches. With the number of matches going up from 900 to 2017 this season, Karim said they are looking to include 10-12 match referees and around 14-15 umpires.
NEW DELHI: Like what we did for the England series, where we had Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay and Rishabh Pant there. That’s the way to go forward.
SABA KARIM, BCCI GM
AUS HOPEFULS FLOP
Australia’s hopes of rebounding from the sandpaper scandal in South Africa hit a rough patch, with few players staking their claims for a spot in Tim Paine’s side ahead of the Pakistan Test series in the UAE, reports Reuters.
With five vacancies on theTest team due to suspensions and injuries, tour hopefuls have had a round of auditions for a strong Australia ‘A’ squad in a four-team ODI series in India. Most fluffed their lines leaving coach Justin Langer and selectors with unanswered questions before the UAE tour kicks off in less than a month.
MELBOURNE: