T20 World Cup – India Cricket Schedule: Team India will face Australia and South Africa at home to prepare for the T20 World Cup in Australia. So far so good, right? Not quite. Just 12 days before T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma & Co will have to travel across India 8800 kilometres to play 6 matches in 14 days while spending a minimum of 11 hours in flight. All that if BCCI decides to hire charter flights. If BCCI goes for commercial flights, the travel time will increase to over 20 hours. Follow India vs Australia LIVE & India vs SouthAfrica LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Sample this, India will play Australia starting September 20 in Mohali, Nagpur and Hyderabad within a span of 6 days. The likes of Virat Kohli and others will spend 5 hours in flight, travelling over 3000 kilometres during these 6 days. From Hyderabad, India travels to Thiruvananthapuram for 1st T20 against South Africa. And then comes the most tricky part, players will have to travel to Guwahati which is 3400 kilometres away. If India take the commercial route, it will take players to reach Assam capital a minimum of 10 hours.
T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma & Co are set for MARATHON, to travel 8800kms in 14 days, spend 11 hours in flight to prepare for T20 World Cup
A senior BCCI official said players will be rotated to keep them fresh from travel fatigue. But it raises an important question, isn’t BCCI risking injuries? KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar besides Jasprit Bumrah have all struggled with injuries. Furthermore, the players will only have a break of 10 days if they reach Asia Cup 2022 Final.
“It is something we have thought about. But it is also necessary to give the team as many matches as we can to prepare for T20 World Cup. The team management understands this well and the workload of all the players will be taken care of. There will be rotations to keep them fresh,” a senior BCCI official said.
T20 World Cup: Team India’s scheduling madness
- IND vs AUS: Mohali to Nagpur: 1330kms/ 2hrs Flight
- IND vs AUS: Nagpur to Hyderabad: 500kms/ 1hr flight
- IND vs SA: Hyderabad to Thiruvananthapuram: 1300KM/ 1.5hrs flight
- IND vs SA: Thiruvananthapuram to Guwahati: 3400/ 10hrs in case of commercial flight
- IND vs SA: Guwahati to Indore: 2200KM – 6hrs (No direct flight)
T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma & Co are set for MARATHON, to travel 8800kms in 14 days, spend 11 hours in flight to prepare for T20 World Cup
T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma & Co are set for MARATHON, to travel 8800kms in 14 days, spend 11 hours in flight to prepare for T20 World Cup
Just a reminder, India will also play a couple of practice matches in Australia before the T20 World Cup. Hence, there will be a high chance of players’ injury. Can India risk injuries before the mega event, especially when winning the trophy is an utmost priority? Perhaps, not. One of the selectors is not happy either. But he leaves it to the team management to “deal with it”.
“Yes, it’s tricky. On one hand, you are getting quality match practice from two of favourite teams to win the tournament. On the other hand, you will risk injuries and fatigue because of the travel time involved. It would have been ideal to avoid Guwahati altogether and have matches at venues with direct flight connectivity. But Rahul and Rohit will have to deal with it and rotate to keep everyone fresh,” said a member of the selection committee.
T20 World Cup: Should BCCI have avoided such a hectic scheduling?
- Team India will have to travel 8800 kilometers in 14 days, play 6 high-intensity matches and spend 11 hours in flight.
- The flight time is only if BCCI hires charter flights. It will increase to more than 20 hours if players fly commercial.
- With multiple players struggling with frequent injuries, BCCI should have avoided such scheduling.
- Furthermore, India play two practice matches before T20 World Cup in Australia.
- If Rahul Dravid decides to rotate the squad, it may not help Team India play as a cohesive unit before World Cup.
- In 2021 World Cup, Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya both played with injuries and the result was disastrous.
- If Rohit Sharma or Hardik Pandya or Jasprit Bumrah gets injured due to the scheduling, it will be a messy affair.
T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma & Co are set for MARATHON, to travel 8800kms in 14 days, spend 11 hours in flight to prepare for T20 World Cup
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