Two teams playing different formats at the same time could be way forward in International cricket, feels Ravi Shastri
Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has opened up on two Indian teams playing different formats at the same time. His comments are about the two Indian teams that will be playing almost at the same time at two different venues. While the Virat Kohli-led side will be playing the World Test Championship final and the subsequent five-match Test series against England, a different Indian team coached by Rahul Dravid and possibly led by Shikhar Dhawan will be playing a limited-overs series in Sri Lanka.
Ravi Shastri has spoken in favor of two teams playing different formats at the same time in different countries. He cited the example of the Indian team as evidence of the same. In an interview with Indian Express, Shastri spoke about the possibility of two different teamsfrom the same country playing cricket in different formats and in different venues. He further said that it can be the way forward in international cricket.
India National Cricket Team. Image Credits: BCCI
It Could Be The Way Forward: Ravi Shastri
“At the moment it is happening because of the current situation with restrictions in travel. But you never know, in the future if you want to expand the game, especially in the shorter formats of the game then it could be the way forward. Why not?” he said.
Ravi Shastri further said that playing two different teams should be seen as an experiment with the expansion of T20 cricket in mind and the overall goal of seeing cricket being a part of the Olympics in the next four to eight years.
“If you have that much volume of cricketers and if you want to spread the T20 game then that could be the way ahead. If you are thinking about Olympics in 4 or 8 years’ time then you need more countries to play the game,” he added.
The Indian team is currently under mandatory quarantine in Mumbai before they fly off to the UK on June 3. After their arrival in the UK, Team India will stay in managed isolation before playing the WTC final from June 18-22 against New Zealand.
