BCCI scores self-goal over reserve day

Including Sunday’s play, India would be playing for three days in succession - Monday (against Pakistan) followed by their next game against Sri Lanka. After a day’s gap they will be playing Bangladesh on Thursday. Where are the workload management evangelists when you need them?!

Did the Indian Cricket Board shoot itself in the foot by agreeing for a reserve day for their Super Four match against Pakistan, a luxury offered to only this contest in the ongoing Asia Cup?  

The Board of Control for Cricket in India may say it was a decision taken by the Asian Cricket Council but the secretary of the Indian Board - Jay Shah - is the current president of the Asian Cricket Council. Shah had a big say in where and how the Asia Cup would be held and to suggest that BCCI didn’t have much say in having a reserve day doesn’t cut much ice.

While there was no way India would have traveled to Pakistan under the circumstances, the offer to play the tournament in the United Arab Emirates was also shot down. Shah later revealed that the players had expressed apprehension about the oppressive heat in the gulf nation and potential injuries ahead of the World Cup, starting October 5.

Though Pakistan cited the example of IPL being hosted around the same time of the year in the UAE, drawing a parallel between a T20 tournament, where most matches begin in the evening, and an ODI tournament is comparing apples to oranges. Subsequently, the tournament was split between Pakistan and Sri Lanka with Indians playing all their games in the Emerald Isles but that Sri Lanka was going through a rain spell was common knowledge.

There were whispers that the Super Four games would be moved to Hambantota, but apparently players weren’t too keen to travel down to the southern town of the country.

Expectedly, the first game against Pakistan was washed out in Pallekele. The second game against Nepal was eventually reduced to a 23-over affair on September 4. The third game, again between India and Pakistan, was scheduled for September 10. With heavy rain forecast for the day, Pakistan, the hosts of the tournament, demanded a reserve day for the match. Having played hardball with the PCB till now, BCCI agreed to the demand as did the other two boards in the Super Four stage.

As unreasonable as this demand was, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh wouldn’t have stood up and said no to the most discriminatory of decisions for obvious reasons. But what stopped the BCCI from not heeding the unreasonable demand? While it’s unfair to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, whose coaches have already expressed their unhappiness, it’s baffling how the BCCI didn’t take into account the potential harm it could cause to the players before giving a nod for a green signal. Was the team management consulted before making the decision?

Consider this: Including Sunday’s play, India would be playing for three days in succession - Monday (against Pakistan) followed by their next game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. After a day’s gap they will be playing Bangladesh on Thursday. Where are the workload management evangelists when you need them?!

Granted, India have only had three practice sessions since coming to Sri Lanka, but these conditions are not easy on the body: the heat when it’s there is humbling and the perpetual humidity is exhausting. Injuries sustained due to heat can take players months to recover.
That, worryingly enough, is why Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of Sunday’s contest at the last minute with a back spasm. The Mumbaikar was only a few weeks ago cleared by the National Cricket Academy after his back surgery a few months ago. He is said to have picked up the ‘niggle’ during a pre-match ‘nets’ session.

The management didn’t have a choice but to inject K L Rahul into the playing XI. He hasn’t played cricket since March and has - maybe - recovered from his right thigh surgery. Also, Rahul isn’t the only one in the side coming back from an injury, nor is he the only one capable of injuring himself in a team full of fragile bodies.