'The Calendar Is Too Hectic': Former IPL Chairman Echoes Virat Kohli's Criticism Of Packed Scheduling

Addressing the press-conference ahead of the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand, India skipper Virat Kohli questioned the scheduling of India’s calendar. The Men in Blue had to depart to New Zealand to play an away series just five days after beating Australia in an ODI at home. 

Virat Kohli not happy with India’s cramped schedule

Kohli was clearly not amused with the scheduling of the fixtures. Apart from injuries to several players, fatigue was a concern. “It’s getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium straight. That’s how compressed the gap has become. This kind of traveling to a place that is seven and a half hours ahead of IST is difficult to adjust immediately.” the 31-year-old said.

I agree with @imVkohli that calendar is too hectic There should not be back to back matches and series as well Players must get some rest and also enough time to get acclimatised . COA should have kept this in mind before finalising the schedule @BCCI

— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) January 24, 2020

Now, Rajiv Shukla, the former IPL commissioner has voiced his support in favor of Kohli. He too feels that the current itinerary is quite jam-packed and there must be room for breathing space. Shukla took to the micro-blogging site and addressed the issue. In an appeal to the BCCI, he added “Hopefully, this will be taken into consideration in the future. But this is the year of the World Cup and every T20 is important. So we can’t lose our focus.” 

Jet lag and the fatigue factor

The India outfit hosted Sri Lanka in a 3-match T20I series before competing with a full-strength Australia side in a gap of mere 4 days. Since losing the ODI opener in Mumbai, Kohli’s-men showed up in a spirited manner and clinched the series.

“The last series we played against Australia was ODIs so we spent more time on the field, but we played a few T20s before that. Having played a lot more cricket than just T20s in the last three games, we will find it easier to come here and play even though with less time (to prepare),” Kohli further added. 

The visitors though went into the 1st T20I at Eden Park looking sharp. Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 58* and a stellar fifty from KL Rahul helped the side chase down a stiff target of 204 and take a 1-0 lead in the series. Kohli, who laced three fours and a maximum en-route to 32-ball 45, refused to cite jet-lag as an issue.