Team SOS to BCCI: Pointless ODIs,T20s killing WCup chances

Tuesdays 200-run humiliation at the hands of Kiwis could get more frequent unless BCCI gets its priorities right.

Indian cricketers are stretched to a point that is unsustainable,and defeats like Tuesdays 200-run humiliation at the hands of New Zealand could get more frequent unless the Board gets its priorities right,fears a senior member of the team management.

It is irrational for key members of the squad to be tiring themselves out at the Champions League,and for the team to be playing inconsequential One-Dayers so close to the Test series in South Africa and the 2011 World Cup,the senior member told The Indian Express on Friday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will play for Chennai Super Kings and Sachin Tendulkar,Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan for Mumbai Indians in the Champions League that begins in South Africa on September 10.

Cricket has become a very commercial sport,but sometimes the Indian cricket board needs to think about the kind of schedule the players who are core to plans for the World Cup and also the Test squad have to deal with, said the senior member,who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The loss against New Zealand was expected. The players were fatigued. We had just two days off between the end of the Test series on August 7 and the start of the One-Day series on August 10. You cant recover from a Test series in just two days, he said.

Only if you are a player who has to play day in and day out will you realize that. There wasnt enough energy on the field and frankly,the players were too tired. There wasnt any time to work with the One-Day players too because there was no time between the Tests and the tri-series, he added.

India play a total 4 Tests and 10 ODIs against Australia and New Zealand before a difficult tour of South Africa in December-January,where they want to win their first Test series. Ahead of this gruelling run-up to the World Cup beginning February 19 is the Champions League. The team management is dreading the prospect of injuries to one or more of the stars who will play that tournament,which is essentially a money-spinner for cricket boards.

Story continues below this ad

A key priority for the team is to ensure the fitness of Zaheer Khan,who missed the Sri Lanka series because of a shoulder injury.

We really struggled without Zaheer in the Test series. It was an achievement in itself that we drew the series without Zaheer in the squad. But this is not a situation we want to be in. The absence of Zaheer has led to other fast bowlers feeling the strain. Our key players are suffering from injuries and niggles, said the senior member.

Ishant Sharma bowled 99 overs in the three-Test series on largely docile wickets,and then sat out of the first One-Dayer of the tri-series. With his left ankle heavily strapped and in a brace,he has been trying to find his rhythm in the nets.

The players and the team think tank have not been enjoying the overkill of Indias encounters with Sri Lanka. The side is plagued by injuries,and coach Gary Kirsten has allowed Test players who are also playing the One-Dayers a short break until the next game on Monday.

Story continues below this ad

There also seems to be a disconnect between the selectors,the mandarins of the BCCI and the team management,which includes skipper Dhoni and Kirsten,with regard to resting key players,rotating fast bowlers and scheduling matches.

The team management has repeatedly requested the BCCI to ease the load of the Test players. However,the only time they have got their way so far with the Board and the selectors was when India fielded a second-string squad for the tri-series in Zimbabwe.