BCCI Forces Australia To Rejig Entire Home Summer

In what could be seen as another show of their immense influence on world cricket, the BCCI has completely turned down Cricket Australia’s request for a shift an ODI schedule. As a result, Australia will reportedly not play an ODI series on home soil in their upcoming summer. According to the new ICC Future Tours Program (FTP), Australia were scheduled to complete a three-match ODI tour to India in late January 2020.

However, media reports now suggest that Cricket Australia (CA) had requested the BCCI to shift the series to a later date in the year. But the BCCI refused to budge and even reportedly insisted that the series begin several days earlier. With the Indian board now in no mood to change their stance,  Australia have been forced to drop a home ODI series against New Zealand which would have begun after the New Year’s Test in Sydney.

Reports further claim that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have accepted the postponement of their series and is looking at future dates to schedule the same.

“We’re quite relaxed about it and confident a contingency can be arranged,” a New Zealand Cricket spokesman told stuff.co.nz.

On the other hand, a Cricket Australia spokesperson said:

“We have been working hard to rejig the schedule to fit a change in dates for the two ODI series, at home with New Zealand and away with India, on the back end of the Sydney test but there are necessary trade-offs.

“As a sport, we are fortunate that we have three formats, a compelling international and domestic offering for both men and women. Complexities are bound to and often arise.

“What we are working through is a solution that sees us honouring our commitments to overseas boards, being flexible to their changing needs, balanced with the need to schedule a summer of cricket that works for the fans. We are confident we will find a way to deliver, with some trade-offs,” the spokesperson added.

The scheduling of the India series has, however, has put new CA chief executive Kevin Roberts in a spot of bother. The series against India means big names  such as Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith and David Warner are likely to miss the Big Bash League. The country’s premier T20 tournament is held during the month of December and January.

Cricket Australia could have also paid another price had they refused India’s proposal. India are scheduled to visit Australia again in 2020 and the tour could have been jeopardises. It could have also hurt Cricket Australia’s hopes of staging a day-night against India. Meanwhile, the 2020-21 Australian season will reportedly feature yet another four-Test series against India, which will be preceded by the World Twenty20 and a one-off Test against Afghanistan.